Heart of a Freeman
by krys723
Summary: Huey Freeman hasn't dated anybody since his ex-girlfriend moved to South Korea two years after giving birth to his only son. Jazmine DuBois loves her fiancé, even though she knows he's cheating on her. When Jazmine moves across the street, will she do the first thing no other woman has been able to do in a long time and break Huey's walls? Rated T for Adult Language and Content.
1. New Beginnings

**Heart of a Freeman**

**Krys723**

**Huey Freeman hasn't dated anybody since his ex-girlfriend moved to South Korea two years after giving birth to his only son. Jazmine DuBois loves her fiancé, even though she knows he's cheating on her with random women. When Jazmine moves across the street, will she do the first thing no other woman has been able to do and break down the walls Huey placed a long time ago?**

**A/N: I created this fanfic last year and I even published it, but my last email account got hacked into and I couldn't finish the story, so I got rid of my old email address, deleted the old version of **_**Heart of a Freeman**_** and started anew. Now because I'm working on this, I'll have to go back and forth between this and **_**Taylor Freeman**_**. **

**A/N Prt II: Rated T for sexual situations and adult language and content. Taylor Freeman will be in this one, but it'll be a different setting as they're all adults. Huey, Taylor, Caesar, and Jazmine are all twenty-seven and Cindy and Riley are twenty-five. POVS are Huey, Taylor and Jazmine with the occasional ones from everybody else. Hope you enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I only own my own characters, not **_**The Boondocks**_**! Please remember that!**

* * *

_Setting_: 1395 Warwick RD-Harper Hill, Southside Richmond; Richmond, VA

_Date_: June 25TH, 2020

_Time_: 3:15 P.M.

Chapter One

New Beginnings

_Huey Freeman_…

Love is of the inevitable, you can't prevent it from happening no matter how much you try. I used to believe in love, until my Mom died when I was eight in front of me and my twin sister, Taylor. Since my Dad died six years earlier, my grandfather, Robert Jebediah Freeman raised not only me and my sister, but also my younger brother Riley Freeman from ages ten until we graduated from high school.

The day we graduated, Granddad gave us $500 in cash and told us to pursue our lives and go to college, to only visit when we were passing through or during holidays. Sadly, Granddad died only a few days after Riley graduated from high school due to natural causes. Granddad's only possession was his and according to his will, it was sold and the money was split between Riley, Taylor and I since our inheritance helped pay for it. Now all three of us lived in Richmond, Virginia not that far away from each other, but far enough to give each of us personal space.

Taylor lived with her husband and my best friend, Michael Caesar, who was known as one of the best soccer players in the East Coast. Taylor was the exact replica of our dead mother, Camilla Freeman. She had curly, dark brownish almost black hair that stopped at her shoulders and eyes that were round and the color of storm clouds. She had the same skin and facial features that matched that of a Freeman and her body was slim and curvaceous, even after giving birth to twin daughters three years earlier. Their names were Ashleigh and Amelia (Ali and Ami for short).

Even going into his late twenties, Caesar had the body of a well-toned soccer player. His hair was covered in black dreadlocks that he always kept in a ponytail and his skin was a dark brown. He and Taylor fell in love back in high school and they've dated since. When Caesar wasn't playing, he was working with Riley and I on the clothing line that Riley started while he was still attending Richmond University.

The clothing line was known as AfroCentric, Riley designed every piece of clothing and accessory for AfroCentric while Caesar and I did marketing. There were at least two stores in every start from Florida to Maine, four in Virginia since it was our headquarters.

We were well-known, especially in Virginia where we've been in newspapers, African-American magazines, and even on some local TV shows. I was even forced—Riley and Caesar talked me into it—to feature in _Richmond's Time Dispatch's 30 Under 30_. Taylor had a riot out of it though and so did Riley's fiancée, Cindy MacPhearson.

Cindy and I were friends, but that came once I got to know her and I knew that she was the only person who would put Riley in his place. Her blonde hair was always styled in layers and her icy blue that sparkled when she was happy and turned ice-cold when she was mad at _anybody_, especially Riley. They've been dating since freshmen year and they're relationship survived a gang war, two pregnancy scares, and even a moment when they broke up for two weeks. After all that, they deserved to be with each other.

I even dated back in college, she was one of Taylor's old friends and her name was Alyssia Parker. She had jet-black hair that she kept in a pixie hair style and eyes that were warm and golden brown. Her skin was milk chocolate and she had one of the most beautiful bodies at Virginia Union University. She was also smart, she was studying Korean just like Taylor and when they graduated, they went their separate ways; Taylor decided to stay in Virginia and teach Korean to middle school students while Alyssia went to Ewha Womans University in Seoul to study Korean more. I wouldn't say that she left me empty-handed, she gave me a son and I named him Robert Jebediah Freeman Jr., after Granddad. She left when he was two and now he's seven and she hadn't been back since.

I hadn't dated anybody since Alyssia, and if it wasn't for Taylor and Cindy then I would've snapped when it came to the first eight months without Alyssia around, it was hard for him to live without his mother. He looked like a mixture of both me and Alyssia, he had Alyssia's black hair but it was in an Afro like mines and while his eyes were round like mines, they were warm like hers. There were times that I couldn't even look at him for long, they reminded me of her, but those moments didn't come unless I really missed her.

Today was a Thursday and the first day of summer vacation for Robby—Taylor's nickname for her nephew—so I promised that I would take him out the pool after work. Robby and I lived in a community known as Harper Hill. It was predominately black with a few white couples and one biracial couple. Since it was in Southside, it was somewhere between middle to middle-high class. The houses were affordable and the monthly payments weren't that bad. Taylor and Caesar lived here too, but they were up the street from me. Riley and Cindy lived two hours away in Virginia Beach, but Riley was able to make it to work on time, so it caused me no harm.

When Robby and I started walking outside into the hot, June weather, I noticed a moving truck from across the street. It was only two kids moving in, a man and a woman, but I did notice baby things were being carried inside. There was also a black Land Rover in the driveway and two people got out. A man got out first, he had black cornrows that were braided to his scalp and beady, black eyes. His skin was darker than Caesar's and he was tall, yet muscular. He got out the driver's side and walked over to the passenger side, opening the door for the other occupant.

It turned out to be a woman, like I had predicted. She had curly, strawberry-blonde hair and the brightest and most beautiful emerald-green eyes that shined in the sun. Her skin was caramel and her body was glowing due to her being at least five months pregnant. She wore a pair of white maternity shorts with a white blouse that fit her pregnant body. I thought it was weird for her to be wearing any type of jacket because it was hot as hell out here. I was about to go across the street, but Robby was tugging on my arm.

"Daddy, if we don't hurry up then there won't be any spaces left," he said in the voice of a typical seven-year-old. I decided to ignore the couple moving in and followed Robby up the street to the local pool that was opened to everybody at Harper Hill.

* * *

When we got there, the single mothers of Harper Hill waved at me as usual and I rolled my eyes as Robby took off his tee-shirt and sandals and hopped in the pool, swimming to where his friends were.

"Hello, Huey," said one of the mothers. Her name was Tianna Stevens and she was at least five years older than me. She was a white woman with long, raven hair and eyes that were actually purple. She had a five-year-old daughter named Gina and she got along with Robby well even though he was older than the girl. She was one of the few white people with common sense, so I talked to her now and then. She was married and unlike the other mothers who had this weird fascination over me, she wasn't interested in me in the least, another reason I liked having her around.

"Tianna, where's Randall?" I asked her as I begun setting up. I placed a beach towel on the chair I was sitting in so my back wouldn't be attached to it and put on the same waterproof sun block that I had placed on Robby five minutes earlier. Tianna pointed Randall out among the people in the pool and I saw that he was trying to teach Gina how to swim without water wings, a feat that Robby mastered when he was four thanks to Taylor who was like a mermaid in the water, especially after giving birth to twins.

"How did Robby get so good again?" Tianna asked.

"Auntie Taylor," I said with a smirk. Tianna nodded as she placed her sunglasses back on her face to block her eyes.

"So in other words, you had nothing to do with it?" she asked after a moment. I rolled my eyes. "You'll be getting an invitation in your mail box for Gina's sixth birthday."

I groaned…I hated going to parties. "Why do you always invite me?"

"Because unfortunately for you, our children are best friends, Freeman," she said with a smile. "So bring something pink as a birthday gift, its her favorite color."

"Can it be a black Barbie?" I asked her. She choked on her water as Randall came over and I shook hands with him. Randall was my attorney when it came to legal affairs with AfroCentric, I've grown to overlook the fact that he was white. He had blonde hair that was dripping wet and eyes that were round and oceanic blue. He was tan and had a skinny body with hardly any muscle. I could easily break him in half like a twig if he ever pissed me off.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Where's Gina?" Tianna asked.

"Robby's teaching him how to swim." I looked over and saw Robby was doing a surprisingly better job than her own father. He must have Taylor's love of swimming.

"What kind of party is it going to be?" I asked them, dreading the answer.

"We're going to Chuck E. Cheese for the afternoon," Tianna said. I groaned again, I hated going to kid-themed places, especially when it comes to parties! Somebody must hate me. Tianna laughed and I looked at the time on my phone, it was almost 5:30 and the sun was starting to go down.

"Randall, go get the kids," Tianna said.

"Wait, why aren't you going to do it?" Randall asked his wife and I even know the answer to that question, she was lazy.

"Because I'm going to put the stuff in the car," she said. I shook my head as she got up and waved bye to me before heading towards her favorite bright yellow Jeep. We had to get ready to go too, Caesar had a game in two hours and we both needed to shower and change, so I got Robby out the pool and we started our five-minute walk back home.

* * *

_Setting_: City Stadium, Richmond City; Richmond, VA

_Time_: 6:30 P.M.

When Robby and I arrived at City Stadium, we walked up to the Top Box where all the families of the Richmond Kickers were able to watch and enjoy the game. Caesar got signed to the Richmond Kickers when his contract with his old team, the Woodcrest Willows was up after he graduated college. He was on the Woodcrest Willows ever since high school, so to them it was sad that he was leaving, but the Richmond Kickers were also a good team and his contract with them wouldn't be up until he was thirty-five and could no longer play soccer professionally.

I spotted Taylor immediately, she was just coming out the bathroom with the twins, one of them each held on to Taylor's index fingers. Robby and I walked over towards them and Taylor smiled when she saw me.

"About time you came," she said. Ali and Ami resembled their parents and the only way you could tell them apart was by hair. Ali had Taylor's curly hair, but it was dark brown like Caesar's and she had his dark brown eyes. Ami had Caesar's dreads but they were darkish brown like Taylor's and she had her mother's round, stormy grey eyes. The twins were both wearing red and white in support of their Dad and since they were the youngest out of the kids, the other Moms thought they were adorable.

"Unckle Huey!" the twins said earning another 'Aww' from the mothers. I picked Ami up and helped Taylor placed them in their shared seat. If people didn't know Taylor was my twin, they would've thought we were dating and that's a thought I found rather disturbing.

"Where's Riley?" I asked.

"Down wishing Caesar good luck," Taylor said. "So how was the pool?"

"I got invited to Gina Stevens' birthday party today!" Robby said as he sat beside me. "We're going to Chuck E. Cheese next month."

"I'm sure your Dad's happy to take you," Taylor said with a smile.

"Don't push it," I said in a voice only she could hear. "And he's too good to get grounded between now and then."

"Huey!" she said with a laugh.

It wasn't long before Riley and Cindy came up, Riley was dressed head to toe in his latest creation, the Imani Collection. Cindy was dressed in the woman's version and I shook my head, he always found ways to promote, I could only imagine the lines at the stores tomorrow when we opened up.

"Huey! What's up my nigga!" said when he was closed enough to me and Taylor. I shook my head. "And how's my favorite nephew?" He and Robby did their favorite handshake and even though he was a handful when he was younger, he probably loves his nieces and nephews. After surviving two pregnancy scares, Riley and Cindy decided not to try again for kids until a month after they were married.

"Hey, Kovu," Cindy said as she gave me a hug.

"Will you stop calling me that?" I asked her.

"We almost related, I have right to call you anything I want," Cindy said. I just shook my head as the game between the Richmond Kickers and Charleston Battery finally started.

The game went into double overtime and after the Richmond Kickers won the game, I let Riley and Cindy follow me home to spend the night since there was no way in hell that Riley was driving back to Virginia Beach at this time of night. This also meant that Riley and Cindy would probably be fucking, but I made sure I had my door and Robby's door closed.

* * *

I had to carry Robby back to the car because he fell asleep during the game just like the twins so Riley decided to help Taylor since Caesar was tired as hell and was ready to start his weekend of relaxation. He worked yesterday and part of today so he wouldn't have to worry about his share of duties at the stores.

In the parking lot, I saw the couple again. The woman wore a men's XXXL Richmond Kickers jersey that would properly cover her pregnancy bump and a pair of maternity black jeans. The man wore a pair of khaki shorts with a black Polo shirt. I was about to put Robby in my truck when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I saw that it was the woman. Her husband or fiancée—I wasn't sure—wasn't that far away, getting inside his Land Rover.

"Hello, you live across the street, right?" she asked me. I nodded and she held out her hand but when she saw that I was carrying Robby she hesitated before she kept her hand out. "I'm Jazmine, Jazmine DuBois."

"Huey Freeman, nice to meet you," I said as balanced holding Robby and shaking hands with the woman. Her emerald-green eyes grew wide.

"Your one of the owners of AfroCentric, right?" she asked me.

"Yeah," I said.

"That's so cool, your like a celebrity in Harper Hill. I think a woman named Tianna Stevens said that I should meet you. I used to live in Woodcrest and would go there all the time," she said. I made a mental note to question Tianna tomorrow, but she said something else that interested me. She used to live in Woodcrest.

"You used to live in Woodcrest?" I asked her.

"Yes, I lived there until I was twelve and then my Mom and I moved to Washington D.C., because my parents divorced. I hadn't seen my Dad since then, I don't even know if he was alive," she said, her voice sadden. Wait a minute…Jazmine DuBois?

"Did you know a girl named Taylor?" I asked because I remembered Taylor being friends with a girl named Jazmine back when we started living in Woodcrest. Before she could answer, Taylor did.

"Jazmine?! Is that you?!" Jazmine turned around and smiled when she saw my sister.

"Taylor! It's nice to see you," Jazmine said. Taylor walked over and hugged Jazmine tight. "Its been a really long time. Last time we spoke, you said you had given birth."

"Yeah, I did and they're in the car. They're so adorable, but they're also cranky. I came over because Huey had dropped his wallet again," Taylor said as she handed me my wallet. I thanked her and put it in my back pocket. "I can't believe your pregnant."

"Yeah, it was after Tyson and I got engaged," Jazmine said. "I should be getting back, so I'll see you soon, Taylor."

"Hey, we should catch up. Where do you live?" Taylor asked her.

"I'll text you the address tomorrow, your number didn't change did it?"

"Not since I moved here, it hasn't. See you soon." Jazmine got back inside the Land Rover with apparently her fiancée and Taylor raised her eyebrow at me.

"You don't remember her?" she asked me as I placed Robby inside the backseat and buckled his seatbelt.

"No, why should I?" I asked her.

"Because she used to be the girl you called annoying and naïve," Taylor said. I looked over just as the Land Rover pulled out the parking space and drove back to their house. "Too bad she left, you two would've made a great couple."

"Whatever, I need to get home." I told Taylor bye before getting inside my truck and driving off. I saw Riley driving off behind me in his cheery red Lamborghini and the on the way home, the only thing I could think about was the woman named Jazmine DuBois.

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	2. The Fourth

**Heart of a Freeman**

**Krys723**

**A/N: Thanks guys for the reviews and I hope you'll enjoy the second chapter just as much as the first! Onwards!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own my husband's show, I own my own characters…and if you don't know who my husband is then you obviously don't get the joke.**

* * *

_**Flashback: 2003**_

_**Setting: 1951 Timid Deer Lane, Woodcrest; Silver Springs, Maryland**_

_**Date: September 15**__**TH**_

_**Time: 3:30 P.M.**_

_**Huey Freeman…**_

_**It hadn't been that long since we moved to Timid Deer Lane and I hated it with every fiber in my human being existence. I hated the trees, I hated the school, I hated the community, I hated the streets, but most of all…I hated all the white people. Every time I turned, I saw a white man, a white woman, and even a white kid or two. Sometimes they came in packs of twins, other times they came in packs of triplets, sometimes they were with their identical friends in cliché groups such as who was the most popular or who was the better jock. I hated being here, which is why I spent most of my time at home. My Mom would've never bowed down, but my Granddad was willing to do anything to get accepted. There were one other black man we found living across the street, but even HE was married to a white woman.**_

_**Riley and I were sitting in the living room when I heard the front door close and the sounds of giggling coming from the next room. It wasn't long before Taylor walked in the living room with a girl who looked about the same age. She had strawberry-blonde hair that was in two puffballs that were tied off with black bands and eyes that were round and emerald-green. Her skin was caramel and she was wearing a purple dress that was over a pink jacket and white shoes. From looking at her, I knew she was biracial.**_

"_**And these are my brothers, Huey and Riley," Taylor introduced. "Guys, this is my new best friend, Jazmine DuBois."**_

"_**Sup?" Riley said without looking up from the game on his X-Box. I just simply nodded my head before going back to my newspaper.**_

"_**So how old are you guys?" the little girl asked.**_

"_**Huey and I are twins and Riley's eight," Taylor explained as they came in the room and sat on the couch. It wasn't long before Taylor and Riley engaged in the next round of his game and the little girl kept looking over my shoulder.**_

"_**What are you doing?" I asked her glaring at her.**_

"_**Seeing what your reading. I hope you don't mind," she said with a perky smile on her face. I raised my eyebrow.**_

"_**I don't like people reading over my shoulder," I said.**_

"_**I'm sorry, I just—"**_

"_**Your Dad's married to that white woman, right?" I asked her. She blinked at me before slowly nodding her head. I scoffed.**_

"_**Your Dad's an idiot, for marrying her. White people are the dominators of the world and they will do everything in their power to keep themselves and their children out of jail. They're spoiled and I hope when you get older you'll get noticed because your black and not because your white," I said without looking up.**_

"_**Huey!" Taylor shouted, trying to stop me but I didn't.**_

"_**What? It's not my fault her father's fell for the black men marry white woman shit, he'll probably end up divorced and alone anyways," I said.**_

"_**Why are you being mean to me?!" the girl started crying.**_

"_**Because your naïve if you don't understand your black side because your parents want you to be easily accepted," I said.**_

"_**I'm not black, I'm white!" she cried. Tears started coming down her emerald-green eyes and Taylor was about to hug her, but she stood up and faced me. I stood up too, ready to fight back if needed.**_

"_**No you're not! You are not white, your biracial and do you know what that means…it means that your black and white! Your so stupid!" I shouted at her.**_

"_**I'm telling my Daddy!" she cried.**_

_**And with that, she ran out the door in tears and both Taylor and Riley looked at me. Well, Taylor more likely glared at me and then she stood up.**_

"_**Thanks a lot, Huey. She was my only friend and probably the only reason I liked being in this stupid town!" she shouted at me before heading upstairs and slamming her bedroom door. I just rolled my eyes and went back to my book as if nothing happened.**_

_**End of Flashback**_

* * *

__Chapter Two

The Fourth

_Setting_: 1375 Warwick RD-Harper Hill, Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Date_: July 4TH, 2020

_Time_: 2:35 P.M.

_Huey Freeman_…

In Harper Hill, there was one person who knew how to throw a really good party…my sister. While I hated going to any parties that didn't involve just talking about business, Taylor was the epitome of party planners. She planned birthdays, Christmas parties, Valentine's Day parties, and she even planned her own wedding and reception single-handedly. If it didn't have that Taylor touch, then it wasn't really a party.

This is why the neighborhood automatically put her in charge of the community Fourth of July block and if I didn't have Robby, then I wouldn't have came at all. Out of consideration for me, she made sure Tianna came along with Gina and Randall, I think she wanted me to have somebody to talk to besides her. I hate the tofu burgers that Taylor had set aside for the vegans (gladly I wasn't the only one) and sat with Tianna and Randall as our kids kept playing with the other neighborhood kids, getting washable tattoos and drinking juices that made them hyperactive.

"Jazmine, I'm glad you made it!" Taylor said. I turned around as I saw Jazmine DuBois and her fiancé—I think his name is Tyson—walked up the sidewalk to where the party was. Today, Jazmine DuBois was wearing a sunflower yellow sundress with sandals that showed off her recently pedicured feet. Her hair was pulled back with a yellow hair band and she honestly looked like a beautiful sunflower. Her fiancé wore black jeans with a crisp white tee and black and white shoes. Taylor was holding Ami and immediately she handed her daughter off to me as she went over to help Jazmine.

"Ohh…is that the new couple?" Tianna asked me taking off her purple shades. I nodded as Ami leaned against my chest and started playing with an invisible fly in between her hands. Taylor immediately took her over to the buffet area so she could get something to eat. "She's cute."

"She's Taylor's old friend back from when we lived in Maryland, but she moved to DC when they were thirteen," I explained.

"Interesting, she's five months pregnant," Tianna said.

"I can see this you know." Tianna smiled as Jazmine's fiancé made his way over and sat down on the other side of Randall.

"Hello, I don't think we have gotten the chance to meet. I'm Tyson Carmichael," he said in a boastful voice. He shook hands with all three of us. "So you're the famous Huey Freeman, one of the owners of AfroCentric."

"I'm not famous," I said as I started bouncing Ami on my knee to keep her entertained and keep me sane. Tianna even looked up.

"Right, your just a multi-billionaire who along with his brother and his best friend owns a huge chain of stores that not only sparks African-Americans, but also other nationalities in the East Coast. People across the globe wants your clothes, they're ordering from their phones, notebooks, and tablets. You get at least $250 a minute. Your probably making money now and you don't even know it," he said.

"It's not about the money," I said through gritted teeth. Even Tianna was quiet, she knew the limits to push me. Before another word came out of Tyson's mouth, Jazmine and Taylor came over and I calmed down instantly. Jazmine sat down beside Tyson and had two plates filled with food and it was either because she wanted to give her fiancé something to eat or she was really that hungry. My question was soon answered when I saw Jazmine hand Tyson a plate of food.

"You really shouldn't eat barbecue when your pregnant," I said moving on to another topic. Jazmine turned to me and so did Tyson. "If you eat barbecue while your pregnant then it might cause issues with your baby, especially if your already five months pregnant."

"Look, I don't tell you how to raise your kid so don't tell why fiancée what to eat and what not to eat," Tyson said pointing to Ami. I raised an eyebrow and so did Taylor.

"This is my niece dumbass, my son is getting his face painted," I said pointing to where Robby and Gina was. Tianna started laughing and even Randall—Mr. Uptight—got in a snicker. Tyson glared at me for a second before he started eating the food Jazmine got for him. One good thing happened, Jazmine gave her extra barbecued meat to her fiancée and I had a small victory. We suddenly heard a cry and I looked down and saw it was Ami, I guess she was ready to join Ali for her nap.

"Tianna, watch my son," I said as I got up from my seat and went inside Taylor's house where Caesar was putting Ali back to sleep. Caesar stood up and I handed his other daughter off to me.

"You got lucky, you got a son," Caesar said. "So what was going on outside with you and that man?"

"Do you know a girl named Jazmine DuBois?" I asked him.

Caesar put Ami down and thought about my question. "Yeah," he said at least. "She used to be friends with Taylor back when we were living in Woodcrest. Is that her with the pregnant belly?" I nodded.

"Apparently she's engaged," I said.

"Damn," Caesar said. "Oh well, you going back out? I might have a beer while I'm watching them."

"I can't, I have Mother of the Year watching my son," I said sarcastically. Caesar laughed as I went outside and rejoined Tianna and Randall. When I saw Tianna had suddenly fell asleep, I smacked her on the back of her head.

"I told you to watch them, not fall asleep!" I said as I sat back down and put my sunglasses back on. She stuck out her tongue before resting her head back on her husband's shoulder. I just reached down for my newspaper and continued reading as the sun started to set down.

* * *

_Setting_: 1398 Warwick RD-Harper Hill, Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Time_: 8:00 P.M.

_Jazmine DuBois_…

I can't believe he didn't remember me! Even his own brother remembered me!

As I got out the shower, I thought about how Huey Freeman, the king of remembering people, couldn't remember me. I remembered him before I moved and I'll be honest, I guess I probably did forget him until I saw after Caesar's game. He still looked the same, but he was taller and it was hard to believe that the one person in the world who hated kids had his own son that he cared for. That he actually loved.

As I put on my pajama bottoms, I heard Tyson coming upstairs after putting all the extra food away that we got from the community cookout. It was a nice way to kill an afternoon, especially with the fireworks at the end. I wished Huey stayed long enough, but he left as soon as the show was over because his son was tired from all the excitement that the kids did. While I was eating, I imagined how my future child would've looked in that crowd. I wondered if he/or she would have fun and if I would be a good Mom…better than my Mom.

Tyson came in the room as I put a ponytail holder in my hair and tied my hair up for the night. I really hoped for a boy, because I don't want a girl ending up with my hair.

"Why were you mean to Huey, today?" I asked Tyson as he came back in the room. Tyson got on my bed and I immediately wanted to puke. He smelled of sweat and grass, he was playing soccer with Michael Caesar and a few of the other men. Of course the team with Caesar on their side won, Caesar was an athlete…it wasn't really a good match which is why he didn't want to play.

"Huey Freeman? Why do you care if I was mad at him?" Tyson asked, his head raising up.

"I heard you two arguing," I said.

"So people argue. You and I are arguing right now," Tyson said. I shook my head as he rose from the bed. Great, now I would have to change the sheets while he was in the shower. "So, how about you and I forget this Freeman nonsense and I come here and let you suck my dick."

"Sucking your _member_ is what got me where I am today," I said. "And you need to shower, you know me."

"Jazmine, why can't I smell like a man."

"You can smell as manly as you want, after you shower and put on some Axe," I said holding my ground. If I took a shower then he takes a shower, I don't let anybody get in my bed with a dirty body.

"Alright, you're the pregnant one," he said putting his hands up in a fake defeat. As he headed towards the shower, I took my phone off the bedside table and texted Taylor for Huey's number. She wanted to know what my intentions for calling her brother was and I told her. She then texted me the number and after placing it in my phone, I called him.

"Hello?" an aggravated voice said on the other end.

"Huey?" I asked.

"Yeah, who the hell are you?"

"Its me, Jazmine DuBois from across the street."

"Oh," he toned softened, but it still sounded aggravated. "How did you get my number?"

"Taylor."

"Great," he said now in a sarcastic voice.

"Listen, I just called to apologize for Tyson's voice earlier…he was rude and out of line," I said.

"Don't worry about it. Look, Jazmine, I need to go. I have to get some work done tomorrow so your going have to go. Goodbye."

Before I could even say "Bye" Huey Freeman hung up his phone and I sighed before I hung up my end too. After changing the sheets in my bed, I changed the sheets and threw the dirty ones in the dirty clothes before getting in the bed and turning out the light. Tyson came out the shower soon after and got in the bed, wrapping his arm around his pregnant stomach and feeling his unborn child move around. But I couldn't concentrate on him as much as I would've liked too, my mind was elsewhere.

**ITS REVIEW TIME! WHAT DID YOU THINK? TYPE IT IN THE BOX (OR TAP THE REVIEW BUTTON) BELOW!**


	3. Forever Lost

**Heart of a Freeman**

**Krys723**

**A/N: This is my Christmas gift to you and for those of you know don't believe in Christmas, then think of this as a special gift because I'm not going to post again until after Christmas or probably not until after New Years. I might do something special and post two chapters at once, but for now just read.**

**DISCLAIMER: I LOVE YOU ALL, but I have no association with **_**The Boondocks**_** in any shape or fashion! I do however, own my own characters.**

* * *

_Setting_: 1395 Warwick RD-Harper Hill, Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Date_: July 8TH, 2020

_Time_: 7:30 P.M.

Chapter Three

Forever Lost

_Huey Freeman_…

"Taylor, I'm not hiring somebody whose about to pop in four months," I told my sister when she came over with this ridiculous idea that I hire Jazmine DuBois as my personal assistant, knowing perfectly well that working at AfroCentric requires heavy lifting, something that Caesar, Riley, and I can do without a woman there, especially one as pregnant as Jazmine. I had just gotten home not that long ago and called to ask Taylor to bring Robby back home so I could feed him and get him ready for his _Doctor Who_ marathon.

find it unusual for seven-year-old to be interested in something like _Doctor Who_, but I'm not the type of parent who judges on the things his kid watches…unless it was something he shouldn't be watching, like Lifetime. Lifetime is absolutely not an TV option watch, in fact I made sure my cable company refused to put it on the two DVRs I have in my house, one for my bedroom and one downstairs. It gives men a bad name and make women—even black women—out to be nothing but cowards and damsels in distress.

"She needs a job and she's qualified to be your receptionist," Taylor said as she grabbed a water bottle from my black Sub Zero six-compartment fridge. "And she doesn't have to be lifting anything either. Come on, Huey, give the woman a job."

"I don't rescue damsels," I said as I finished cooking. I was fixing vegan stir-fry using jasmine rice, green bell peppers, red bell peppers, red onions, and Portobello mushrooms. I turned to Taylor. "Besides, doesn't her fiancé make like _my_ type of money anyway? She doesn't need my money, she's got enough to rest on."

"Huey, that's not fair and you know it," Taylor said. I called Robby into the kitchen as Taylor and I headed in the living room so I could walk Taylor out. "What if the roles were reversed? She would help you out."

"I don't even remember the girl!" I shouted before I leaned my head against my door frame. Taylor knew she had me, she wasn't leaving until she got an answer. "Fine, tell her do her application tonight and I'll overlook it in the morning. Now can you please leave?" She smiled before she kissed me on the cheek and left out the house. Man, why couldn't I have a sister who cared less?

_Doctor Who_ didn't go off until midnight, but Robby fell asleep at ten and I took him upstairs and placed him in the bed. When I came back downstairs, there was rapid knocking on the door and I had no choice but to open it. It was Tianna.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in my tired state. If I had been more awake, then I wouldn't have even considered opening the door. Tianna ushered herself in my house and sat on my couch. I just groaned, this was one of the reasons why I'm not a huge fan of white people. "Did you and Randall get in another fight?"

"What do you think? Can I stay here for the night?" she asked.

"Where's Gina?" I asked her as I went to my linen closet and pulled out the extra pillows and blanket I had reserved for this situation. Being friends with Tianna meant being friends with her marriage. Whenever her and Randall get in a heated argument, she would leave and come straight here. The first time it happened I wanted to hit her with a bat because it was 3:30 in the morning and I had to be at work in the next three hours.

"At her grandmother's, I dropped her off this afternoon after daycare," she said in a huff. I threw the pillows and blanket at her and sat on the bottom of my stairs while she set up for the night.

"When are you going to leave him?" I asked her.

"When he misses me off to the point I can leave," Tianna said. "Your lucky your single, Freeman…its too much hassle being in a relationship."

"I'm tired to rescuing you," I said point-blank.

"Your not rescuing me, Freeman. I know how to handle myself, but it's just when he makes me really mad, I come here. You don't ask questions," she said. "And as I've told you before, we're friends."

"It feels like I'm also friends with your damn baggage," I said as I got up and headed upstairs. "I want you out by morning."

"Don't worry, I'll be gone before your alarm goes off," Tianna said.

* * *

_Setting_: AfroCentric Headquarters-Downtown Richmond, Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Date_: July 15TH, 2020

_Time_: 11:30 A.M.

_Jazmine DuBois_…

Tyson parked his car in the closet space in front of AfroCentric's Headquarters, it's the first store _plus_ its main offices. Tyson wanted to walk inside with me, but I told him that I could make it on my own.

"I still don't understand why you need this job," he said.

"Because I like working. I used to work in the MSNBC office building before we moved," I told him. Today, for my interview, I was dressed in a black maternity dress with black flats. My hair was tied in a curly ponytail and I made sure all pink nail polish my fingers were gone and replaced with clear nail polish.

"I know you _like_ working, but you don't _need_ to work," Tyson said. I glared him before I got out—more like wobbled out—the car and headed inside the always busy store. AfroCentric looked small on the outside, inside it was big and magnificent. There were clothes from everybody from infant to elder adult in both men and women and in all sizes. The walls were black and the red and the floor had famous African-American figures on the ground such as Martin Luther King JR. and Barack Obama and Malcolm X. Even the cashiers AfroCentric tees as apart of their uniforms.

"Jazmine!" I looked over to the back door and saw Cindy MacPhearson waving me over. Cindy and I used to go back just like Taylor and I. I missed talking to her and she missed me too by the way she hugged me when she first learned I moved to Harper Hill.

"I like what you did to your hair," I said once I was came over.

"Girl, you know me. I couldn't keep those damn braids in forever," she said as we started walking up the three flights of stairs. "Sorry we gotta walk, the damn elevator is on the fritz again and they got a repairman coming by tomorrow."

"Its cool," I said. "So what are you doing here?"

"Discussing wedding plans with Riley. Kovu shooed me out before we got any further. Your coming aren't you? Its in October," Cindy said. I nodded, I couldn't wait to attend her wedding. "So I saw that hunk of a man your engaged too, you didn't do bad for somebody who was shy around boys who weren't Huey Freeman."

I blushed and she laughed. "Girl, you know I'm playing. Besides, I don't want you to get flustered before your interview. I hope you get this job, you know how much catching up we gotta do."

Before I opened my mouth, we reached the top floor and Cindy knocked on the door. Riley was the one to open the door and smirked at Cindy.

"What? You can't get enough of me?" he asked in a sly voice. Cindy laughed before pointing to me. He looked at me. "You here for the interview?" I nodded and he beckoned me to come in.

"I'll be back later," Cindy called out to Riley before he closed the door behind him and lead me through the hallway. The hallway the filled with their best work and their collections. Riley told me a little of the back story, how they've worked since Huey and Caesar's freshmen year of college and what type of success they've gotten for their line. We reached a room at the end of the hallway and Riley opened the door, revealing a room that was decorated in chocolates browns and velvet reds. It looked like a pure fashion room, anybody in fashion would've wanted to be in that room.

"You can sit on the couch and Huey will get you when your ready," Riley instructed. I sat down on the plush red couch and went over the interview questions in my head. This should be easy, but its Huey Freeman we're talking about and nothing is easy with Huey Freeman.

"Jazmine." I looked up and saw Huey, dressed in a pair of black jeans that almost looked like slacks and a red AfroCentric tee. He beckoned me forward and I stood up with all my might. I wanted to sit back down again, it was one of the most comfortable chairs imaginable. We walked inside a door on the right and I was once again amazed. The office fits four desks, but the fourth desk was now empty while the other three was covered with papers and phones.

Huey directed me towards his desk and we walked over, every step felt like my feet had lead inside. He helped me to sit down on my seat before he sat down in his seat and Caesar and Riley came over, sitting on either side of Huey and the interview begun.

They each asked me for their fair share of questions for the first half of the interview and the second half in the interview focused on me asking them questions. Apparently they've tried to fill the position for a while and I hoped they hire me and not because I'm an old friend to Riley and Caesar. When the interview was over, they told me to wait outside while they discussed everything I said and my work experiences.

_Huey Freeman_…

"So?" I asked them as Jazmine closed the door behind her. "What do you think?" Caesar, Riley, and I were in the boardroom, we wanted to make sure we weren't heard. Riley sat on table while Caesar and I sat in black swirl chairs. I wanted to fall asleep, I've been working on a new line all night and I had Riley over to the extra help.

"She pregnant, we got heavy boxes to lift and we can't have pregnant women here. It's technically a danger zone," Riley said. This was one of the few times I agreed with Riley.

"But, she could be a good asset," Caesar said. "She worked at MSNBC ever since she graduated school and she does know what she's doing unlike everybody else."

"I'm not going to get sued because we hired a pregnant woman, Ceez. No matter how good her credentials are," I said.

"What about after the baby is born? Can she work for us thing?" Caesar asked. He was under Taylor's influence, I'd recognize it anywhere and I hated it.

"Nigga, if you don't jump off Taylor's pussy. She probably threatened you with sex or something," Riley said. Caesar threw a pen at his head.

"I'm telling her that she can join us once her baby is born. I'm not risking anything." I got out my seat and went out front to where Jazmine was. Once I told her our answer, she nodded her head softly before getting up and heading back out. Why did I feel so bad?

* * *

_**Flashback: 2004**_

_**Setting: The Hill-Timid Deer Lane, Woodcrest; Silver Springs, Maryland**_

_**Date: November 16**__**TH**_

_**Time: 3:30 P.M.**_

_**Jazmine DuBois…**_

_**I didn't have many friends in Woodcrest, but the few friends I had were near and dear. One of those people was Taylor Freeman, she arrived in August of last year and we've been friends since. We did everything together, along with her younger brother Riley. The only person I couldn't get along with was her twin brother, Huey Freeman, the most sadistic person alive. He had to be right about every little thing…it pissed me off.**_

_**Today was a Tuesday and we just left school, so Taylor and I decided to do our homework at the Hill. It wasn't long before we were joined by Huey, who had his newspaper as usual. I wish he had a friend to play with.**_

"_**Jazmine, how are things at home?" Taylor asked me. Like me, Taylor had curly hair, but it didn't look like a puffball, it actually looked soft and it went with her complexion instead of being strawberry blonde and wiry. When she asked me about my Mom and Dad, she was genuine, but I didn't want to talk about it in front of Huey.**_

"_**Their fine," I responded.**_

"_**She's lying, I can tell," big-mouthed Huey said. Taylor looked up at her brother, but he continued. "You can see by how long she hesitated." I looked over at Huey and glared at him. He did nothing but glare back.**_

"_**You don't know what's going on in my house so why don't you keep your mouth shut?" I told him.**_

"_**EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT'S GOING ON IN YOUR HOUSE!" he almost shouted. "It's not my fault your mother's sleeping with every guy on the block."**_

"_**Huey!" Taylor shouted.**_

_**But Huey ignored her. "I told you a long time ago that the only thing white people are the fucking devil. They only care about saving their own asses, they don't care who they hurt along the way. In your mother's case, she only cares about making sure she gets some good, strong black dick and your father being the pussy he is can't satisfy her like she wants, so she goes after other black men and bringing them to her house, fucking them in the bedroom she and your father sleeps in every night. Tell me you haven't noticed!"**_

"_**You don't know shit about my family!" I shouted.**_

"_**Your useless…just like your father," he sneered. My heart-felt like it broke right then and there. I knew Huey Freeman and I would probably **__**never**__** get along, but did he have to be so mean? It happens every time he sees me, is he trying to get me to face reality or is he just really that cruel?**_

_**End of Flashback.**_

* * *

_Setting_: 1398 Warwick RD-Harper Hill, Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Time_: 9:15 P.M.

_Jazmine DuBois_…

"Hold on." I heard knocking on my door and had to race to get it, wondering who was willing to come by this late. Tyson was out hanging with some of his boys from work so I was there by myself, eating dinner and watching TV. For dinner, I was eating three Portobello mushroom burgers because I was super hungry. When I answered the door, I saw that it was Huey Freeman. I had to do a double take…what was he doing here? "Hi, Huey."

"Listen, I know that I said I wanted to wait until _after_ you had your baby, but I understand the importance of making your own money and being dependent so if you still want the job…then its yours," I said. Whoa, I never expected this? What changed his mind? Was it Taylor?

"Thank you," I said. "So when can I start?"

Huey handed me a set of keys. "Tomorrow, you'll have to get there at six-thirty with breakfast. There's a Korean place downtown that sells cold vegan noodles, I want the sesame ones because it's the only ones I can get down my stomach. Riley likes strawberry bagels the bakery that's right next door to Starbucks and Caesar eats three breakfast bars because of his career. Screw it up and I'm docking your first week's pay. Goodnight, Jazmine."

"Goodnight, Huey." Once he left, I just stared at him. Was he serious?

**TYPE IN THE BOX (OR TAP THE REVIEW BUTTON) BELOW! NOW, I'M NOT WRITING AGAIN UNTIL AFTER CHRISTMAS AND I DON'T WANT NO THREATS (Luv ta Luv ya, I'm talking to you)! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!**


	4. Differences

**Heart of a Freeman**

**Krys723**

**A/N: I don't know who keeps getting in my head, because I told everybody that I wouldn't write today. **_**Anyhoo**_**, I must really, Really, REALLY love you guys because I'm giving you one more chapter that'll be either out later on Sunday or at least Monday morning. Thank you for the reviews and now onwards!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own **_**Boondocks**_**, but I own my own characters**

* * *

_Setting_: AfroCentric Headquarters-Downtown Richmond, Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Date_: August 15TH, 2020

_Time_: 10:36 P.M.

Chapter Four

Differences

_Jazmine DuBois_…

Its been one month since I started working at AfroCentric and believe you me…its hard working for _one_ Freeman, but when I'm working with not only the Freemans, but also famous soccer star Michael Caesar, everyday will be hectic. Besides me, the only other people who were allowed up here was Cindy and Taylor and sometimes Taylor would bring her twins and Huey's son, Robby. Robby was a replica of his father, he believed in African-American rights like his father, he hardly smiled, he was straight-forward, and he was vegan.

The one difference between father and son was that Robby knew when to simply be a kid, something Huey never learned when he was younger. Robby's best friend a white girl named Gina Stevens, the daughter of Tianna Stevens, one of the prettiest women on the block. She was Huey's only female friend, they've been friends since Huey moved here back when Robby was four. Tonight was an all-nighter for Huey, Riley, and Caesar, they were doing the finishing touches on their fall collection known as the Escobar Collection. Escobar was Riley's middle name, it was his father's first name and according to Taylor, he died the night Riley was born.

In one month, I learned a lot, especially with how they worked. Huey was the boss even though it was Riley's idea from the start and Riley and Caesar are the more laidback ones. They all answer calls, design and produce clothing, plan meetings, and work in a cohesive environment.

My duties were difficult. First of all, I wasn't _only_ Huey's receptionist, I worked for Huey, Riley, and Caesar. I was to arrive at six-thirty in the morning with breakfast for all three of them. Huey mostly ate Korean vegan food for breakfast and lunch, I think it was Taylor's influence on him because she as big on Korean culture. Anyhoo, I had to get _vegan _Naengmyeon (cold noodles) and if he even saw a speck of meat, then I would immediately got docked half a day's pay.

Caesar ate _not_ only protein breakfast bars, he also eats breakfast sandwiches made with scrambled egg whites, turkey sausage _and_ bacon, sautéed green and red peppers, scallions, and butter on whole-wheat bread _with_ a huge bowl of fresh fruit with a teaspoon of sugar. Caesar's lenient, he doesn't dock as much as Huey does, but like his best friend, he wants his food to be on point. Riley—oh Riley, he was a fan of Starbucks. Besides getting a Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino® Blended Crème, I also had to get two Spinach & Feta Breakfast Wraps and a bowl of Starbucks® Perfect Oatmeal, no nuts because he was allergic. If Huey saw a nut, then he would dock me for the week!

Once the breakfast fiasco is over—I would usually eat at the house before I leave for work—it was time for me to start working. Up until lunch, my duties would be answering the phones, doing paperwork before signing it off to Riley, Huey, and Caesar; and inventory. If it was inventory day, then I would be down there all day long making sure everything was accounted for. By lunch, I can take a break and eat, though they did let me eat almost every hour because I was pregnant.

I would usually eat baked chicken strips I made the night before with fresh fruit, salads, and a cup of milk that I would keep in the office's fridge while Huey, Riley, and Caesar take their lunch breaks in shifts, Huey's usually would be last.

Once lunch was over, I would do my last hours of work until seven-thirty, unless they were doing all-nighters. Tonight was an all-nighter, they were under a deadline and though they did most of the work, finishing touches would usually take all night long and nobody in the office was playing around, not even Caesar, who was naturally filled with good humor. When it came to all-nighters, my duties included getting dinner and whatever else they would need to get the job done. It was like a fashion surgery and the three doctors were arguing on how to finish every piece of clothing.

I had gone out to get pizza for them to eat, they said the fuel would give them more energy to work. I went to an Italian place two doors down that specialized in pizza and ordered three larges; vegan delight for Huey with a homemade vegan cheese sauce they made right on the stove and whole grain pizza dough, pepperoni lovers for Riley with extra cheese and pepperoni, and supreme for Caesar with extra meat and cheese. I was glad the elevator was fixed weeks earlier or I would be in real trouble. After the elevator stopped, I got off and walked back to the boardroom where Huey, Riley, and Caesar were working.

"Guys, I'm back," I said as I sat the pizza down. The three men looked over from their drawing panel and spotted the pizzas. Riley and Caesar went after them like savage beasts who hadn't eaten for hours. I couldn't blame them. Huey, however, walked over towards me.

"Jazmine, you don't have to stay, you need sleep," he said.

"I don't mind working late, Huey," I said truthfully. Lately, when I got home from work, Tyson isn't even there and when I call, he always says that he's working late or he's hanging out with his boys or whatever comes out of his mouth.

"Jazmine, you have a baby inside you, you need as much sleep as possible," Huey said in a firm voice. "We don't need you here anymore tonight, unless a designer's going to randomly call us, then we got it from here."

Riley and Caesar nodded in agreement and from the stern look Huey gave me, I had no choice but to follow orders and I was getting tired. After bidding the trio goodnight, I got in my car and drove home, realizing that I'll need to soon find another way of transportation soon because my belly was getting in the way of the steering wheel.

When I came home, I found the house in darkness. When I opened the front door, I saw that it was dark inside too, indicating that Tyson wasn't home. I wobbled upstairs to the baby's room glad that tomorrow was my day off and I could continue working on it. The walls were painted a pale yellow with a white border on the bottom. We also had a local artist come in and paint a giraffe with a long neck that stopped at the crib. The paint just dried last night so I was about to come in without my mask. The changing table was made of oak wood and was filled with everything the baby would need when it came to diaper needs. I even had a dresser drawer filled with baby clothes for girls.

Tyson went around the office saying that he was having a boy, but something inside me knew it was a baby girl and I already picked a name out. I was going to name her Kennedy Raleigh DuBois, since I wasn't married to Tyson yet then it would be inappropriate that I would give her his last night. After shutting off the light in the baby room, I got ready for bed because I was tired. I went to sleep fairly quickly and when I woke up the next morning, there was Tyson and he smelled like perfume and beer.

* * *

_**Flashback: 2004**_

_**Setting: 1948 Timid Deer Lane, Woodcrest; Silver Springs, Maryland**_

_**Date: December 24**__**TH**_

_**Time: 7:45 P.M.**_

_**Taylor Freeman…**_

_**I was worried about Jazmine, she didn't seem like herself. Usually, Jazmine would love anything and everything that had to do with the holiday season, but ever since her Mom started cheating on her Dad, she's gotten less and less happy about it. Like her spirit was dwindling away…even Huey noticed, ever since he told her off at the Hill. She hadn't spoken to him since and when he was around, she would simply just head home and since Huey hung around me a lot because we were twins, I hardly saw Jazmine. But today was different, she had no choice because her Dad gathered all the neighbors for a Christmas party. While the adults would be upstairs drinking their asses off and swamping stories, the kids would be downstairs, awkwardly waiting for the time to pass.**_

_**It was awkward for them because Huey, Riley, and I were the only black kids there and after a year, nobody on the block was used to us. Well, that might be because Huey was wanted by the FBI or that when we were along it would a blood battle or it might be because we have a strange, erotic character come by our house almost everyday.**_

_**The only person who was used to us besides Jazmine was Riley's best friend, Cindy MacPhearson. She was the same age as Riley, with two long, blonde pigtails and icy blue eyes, she spoke in New York-like accent and was hardcore to the core. Her and I got along well too, but Huey couldn't stand her; not only because she was white but because she gave him a special nickname the first day we met her.**_

"_**What's up, Kovu?!" Cindy shouted when we came downstairs. They were watching holiday movies, particularly **__**A Christmas Story**__**, which was always on repeat every year. I would usually watch it around three times before I got tired of it. When Huey saw Cindy, I swear I thought he was going to punch her, but he promised Granddad hours beforehand that he wouldn't cause trouble for the next two days.**_

"_**Can you please not call me that?" Huey asked her. She gave me a hug and did a handshake with Riley that only the two of them knew. I spotted Jazmine and went directly over to her, a small Christmas present in my hand. Huey didn't even know I brought this.**_

"_**Hey," I said sitting beside her.**_

_**She looked over at me and gave a forced smile. "How are you?"**_

"_**I'm fine, when did you get here?" she asked me in a fake-nice voice.**_

"_**We just got here," I told her. We were quiet as we watched the holiday movie and when the next commercial break came into play, I asked her. "Does your Dad know?"**_

"_**No, its either he knows and he doesn't want to bring it up around me or he's just that dumb. Maybe I will turn out like my father," she said. I rolled my eyes, I knew Huey got to her.**_

"_**Don't let **__**anything**__** my brother say get to you. You're a smart, independent person and yeah your still living with your parents, but so am I. We're eleven. Look, the bottom line is, while Huey's the smart, straight-forward twin, I'm the nice one."**_

"_**Thanks, Taye," she said giving me a hug.  
**_

_**The downstairs door opened again and another boy walked in. First of all, I wasn't like Huey when it came to race, but he was black. He had dark brown dreads and his eyes were the color of milk chocolate, but he was black! He spotted Huey immediately and walked towards him. They soon begun talking and I was happy because Huey finally found a friend.**_

_**The rest of the night was filled with me constantly trying to cheer Jazmine up and some of my attempts succeeded. By the end of the evening, I gave Jazmine the Christmas gift I brought her and walked out the DuBois house, following Huey and Riley.**_

_**Christmas eve was the last time I saw Jazmine happy, the next week Mr. DuBois caught on to Sarah's cheating when he found them having sex in his own bedroom and immediately filed for divorce. After that came one of the gruesome divorce battle I've ever seen, each of them wanted Jazmine to themselves and had no interested in shared custody. Mrs. DuBois wanted Jazmine to come to her to Washington D.C. and Mr. DuBois fought to keep her here in Maryland, he didn't want her to separate from her friends and school. Whoever won this custody battle would change everything for Jazmine.**_

_**End of Flashback.**_

**YES, ITS SHORT BUT ITS CHRISTMAS! THIS IS MY CHRISTMAS GIFT TO YOU PEOPLE AND I WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY! ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS AND REVIEW BELOW BY TYPING IN THE BOX (OR TAPPING YOUR REVIEW BOX).**


	5. Bells

**Heart of a Freeman**

**Krys723**

**A/N: Before I tell you what I normally tell you people, I have an announcement. Over the Christmas holidays, I got a brand-new laptop with the brand-new Windows 8 and it's in my favorite color: black. Now normally, I would be using my computer and I will, but I'm to test out a chapter on the laptop and see how it feels. So far, these keys are calling my name. Anyway, I hope you all had a good holiday (even those of you who don't celebrate Christmas) and for those of you who do…tell me the one thing you **_**really**_** wanted and got. ONWARDS!**

**DISCLAIMER: Just because I have a new laptop does not change things, I do not own **_**The Boondocks**_**, but I do own my characters.**

* * *

_Setting_: Metropolitan African-American Baptist Church, Downtown Richmond; Richmond, VA

_Date_: September 17TH, 2020

_Time_: 9:30 P.M.

Chapter Five

Bells

_Jazmine DuBois_…

"Tell me again, why am I here?" Tyson asked me. We just pulled up at Metropolitan African-American Baptist Church, the site of Riley and Cindy's wedding. Cindy invited me back in July and I couldn't say no, because it would give me thoughts about my wedding. Tyson wants us to get married in December, which wasn't too far from now and the baby would be borne by then so he/or she could see their parents getting married. Everybody in the neighborhood (even Huey) RVSP already and now we're waiting for Tyson's family to do the same along with my mother and her current boyfriend. To match the season, the wedding colors would be ice blue and white, it looked prefect. But that's all I have so far. I don't know who would be in my bridal party or who would be a part of Tyson's groomsmen. It was a long process the only thing that was really about me at the moment was the little person inside me.

"Cindy invited me and she said I could bring you along, why do you have to be to mean?" I asked him as an usher handed us wedding programs. I looked around for an empty space and heard somebody calling my name. It was Huey's friend, Tianna Stevens. She was so pretty and curvaceous and tall. Her raven-hair was in curls and her purple eyes looked rounder due to the mascara she wore on her face. She wore a black dress, but it didn't make her look depressed, she rocked it. Tyson and I walked over and she made her husband move down the pew to make room for me and Tyson. He placed their daughter, a five-year-old in a pink dress in his lap and moved down some. I got in first and sat down beside Tianna while Tyson sat at the end; he looked like he didn't want to be here, which got me thinking about my wedding. Was he going to be bored there too?

"So you're the new AfroCentric receptionist, huh?" she asked me. I nodded and smiled, it's been two months and I'm still hanging in because it got more hectic since Riley would be gone for a month because of his wedding. At the end of the month, I would be starting my maternity leave just as Riley's getting back, but Huey said I could have at least three months in addition to the two months I got for maternity leave. I'm not sure if Huey even wanted me back, which suited Tyson just fine because he wanted me to stay home and take care of the baby. He didn't want me to work, he was in the mindset that men worked while women cleaned and take care of children.

"It's rough huh?" she asked. Again, I nodded and smiled. "Huey Freeman is a hardass, no matter what anybody else thinks. He wants to be the best at what he does and he wants his son to have that same mindset as well, if you work hard then you'll get rewarded at the end. You should see his boy; he gets straight A's and has the best projects imaginable. My daughter's only in first grade and he puts her to shame." I could imagine, the three Freemans remaining was gifted; Taylor was gifted when it came to learning new languages, Riley was gifted when it came to art and design, and Huey was gifted in knowledge and wisdom beyond his years.

"So how far along are you?" Tianna asks me, moving on towards another subject.

"I'll be eight months in two weeks," I told her. "I can't wait till she's born, I have a feeling it'll be a girl."

"Oh yeah, I know those feelings. I knew that I would have a girl the moment I found out I was pregnant," Tianna said. "Here comes, Huey." I looked at the front and saw Huey and Caesar emerging from the door on the right. They both looked like superstars decked in their black Armani suits. Caesar's dreads were re-twisted and designed properly for the occasion while Huey's hair was pulled back in a ponytail, showing off his sharp facial features.

It wasn't long before the organist started playing a soft tune and everybody turned and watched as Robby came down first, grumbling as he held a pillow with two white gold wedding bands on them. It amused me that he had his father's grimace. Taylor was next down the aisle and attached to her arm was Riley. Caesar gave a small wolf whistle and I couldn't blame him, Cindy surely did not believe that her maid of honor and bridesmaids would look like trashy while she was gorgeous, she believed in sharing the attention.

Riley's braids were freshly done probably the night before and he wore an Armani suit just like Huey and Caesar, but he had a yellow rose pinned on the right side of his suit jacket, I guess this was sign that he was the groom. When they got to the front, Taylor gave him a hug as she went to stand in place and Huey gave him a pat on the back.

After two more bridesmaids came down, both women were probably Cindy's friends from work, the music changed to the wedding march and everybody had to stand to see Cindy walk down the aisle. With her arm wrapped around her father's, she walked down in a grace I've never seen her walk. She wore a white, strapless wedding gown with a lacy skirt and a train that was as long as the aisle. She didn't wear a traditional veil, but then again Cindy MacPhearson was far from traditional. She was smiled and waving at the people and when she saw me, she directed her father towards me and Tyson.

"I'm glad you came, Jazzy," she said with a smile on her face. She reached out and gave me a hug before following her father down the aisle where Riley was. He let go of his daughter's arm and handed her over to Riley—though it looked like he didn't want to at first.

The wedding was absolutely beautiful; I loved every moment of it. Throughout the vows, I saw Tianna hold her husband's hand and he kissed it, as though they were remembering their own wedding. Looking up at the front, I saw Taylor mouthing something at Caesar and he smiled. I think that they talking about having sex after the reception. I then looked at Huey, who was looking at Riley and Cindy before turning to me. I wondered what was going through his mind; did he ever love somebody besides his family?

Once the ceremony was over, everybody made their way outside to mid-September weather. Huey, Riley, Cindy, Taylor, and Caesar made their way towards a white stretch limo and I was about to get in Tyson's truck when Cindy came over.

"Hey, why don't you two ride with us? We have room for three more," she said jokingly as she patted my stomach. Tyson opened his mouth before I could.

"You know what, we're alright by ourselves. Thanks for the offer though," he said.

"Hey, I was going to ask for only Jazmine, but I didn't want to be rude so I thought I could invite you too, even though we all know you afraid of Kovu since he told you off back in July," Cindy said. "So you can come or not, but I want Jazmine to come along because she fam."

I turned to Tyson. "Do you want me to go?" I asked him.

"You go with them then I'm going home and I ain't picking you up either," Tyson said.

"Girl, you know Huey gonna take you come. He wouldn't leave a pregnant woman stranded like _some_ men in the world today," Cindy said with a glare at Tyson. "Come on, Jazzy you know you want to."

"I'll see you later, Tyson. I'm going to ride with Cindy," I said. Tyson rolled his eyes and got inside his car, driving off.

"Come on, girl," Cindy said grabbing my hand. I followed Cindy towards the limo and helped me inside before she got in. "I told ya'll I'd get Jazmine to come along."

"Where's her fiancé?" Huey asked Cindy.

"He mad cuz he think you gonna take Jazmine away from him, so he went home. Oh, and you gotta take Jazmine home cuz he ain't coming back," she said. She made her way over to sit beside Riley and he gave her a kiss.

"Girl, wait till I get you in Honolulu," Riley said.

"What's in Honolulu?" Robby asked from beside Huey.

"Riley!" Huey and Taylor said in unison.

"What? I kept it as PG as I could, at least I didn't go rated M like Taylor and Caesar over there," Riley said. "I saw ya'll mouthing off to each other."

Taylor's cheeks went red for a nanosecond before she changed the subject. "So Jazmine, did you enjoy the wedding?"

"Yeah, it was really nice," I said honestly.

"Well, I wouldn't want to get married in a church," Huey said.

"Nigga, I'm surprised you ain't got struck with lightening yet," Riley said making the whole car laugh, even the driver.

"Whatever," Huey said. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself Jazmine."

"Girl I wish you could smoke, me and Taylor along with my bridesmaids are going to a private area later and we gonna get fucked up," Cindy said.

"The only thing you two do is smoke," Huey said.

"Why can't I? Mommy said she would watch the girls today since they were too young to go to the wedding," Taylor said. She turned to me. "Caesar's Mom said I could call her Mommy since I'm like the daughter she never had."

"You can never be too sure, Taye," Riley said. Caesar smacked him upside his head and the rest of the ride was filled with laughter and fun. It all made me forget about how much of a jerk Tyson was.

* * *

_**Flashback: 2004**_

_**Setting: 1951 Timid Deer Lane, Woodcrest; Silver Springs, Maryland**_

_**Date: May 12**__**TH**_

_**Time: 9:30 A.M.**_

_**Huey Freeman…**_

_** Taylor was not herself today and everybody on the block new why. As soon as the New Year kicked in, Thomas DuBois and Sarah Walkmen filed for divorced and the next five months were a true nightmare. The two couldn't win for losing, every time Tom reached a settlement, Sarah went against it and they continued to fight just like they did during their fifteen years of marriage. But what made it worst was that their divorce was mediatized; every local newspaper wanted to know what happened next.**_

_**The worst part of their whole divorce and the main reason for this battle was the fate of Jazmine DuBois. Nether parent would settle for shared custody, it was full custody or nothing. Though Mr. DuBois pulled out some good points, Ms. Walkmen was always on the defensive. It was five months of torture, heartache, and dirty laundry. In the end, it was Ms. Walkmen who won full custody of Jazmine because the judge was one of Sarah's fuck buddies and he was moving to D.C. with Sarah as soon as the trail was over. Sarah planned on leaving five days after the trail was over. It ended on the seventh.**_

_**Taylor was beyond upset, she was losing her best friend and since Jazmine was the only reason Taylor was about to tolerate Woodcrest, she felt broken and lost. Mr. DuBois told us that the reason he wanted to stay was not only because he didn't trust Jazmine's care in Ms. Walkmen's hands, but also because he knew that Taylor and Jazmine were closer than most girls their age. He couldn't bear to see that relationship pulled apart.**_

_** When the trail was over, Ms. Walkmen immediately told Jazmine to start packing her belongings and start saying goodbye to all her friends. Thing was, Jazmine didn't have a lot of friends; she only had us and Cindy. Caesar didn't know her as long as we did, but he was still cool with her. Jazmine spent as much time as she could with Cindy and Taylor, the trio did everything together; they went to the mall, the movies, out to eat, and to the Hill. Two days before Jazmine had to leave; Taylor and Jazmine had a huge sleepover blowout funded by Granddad and Mr. DuBois. Last night, Jazmine had dinner with us one last time before going home and spending her final hours with her Dad.**_

_** Ironically, it was a sunny day in May when Jazmine left. Mr. DuBois was locked up in his room; he couldn't bear to see the only good thing out of his marriage leave with the bad seed he thought he loved. When Taylor, Riley, and I went across the street; Jazmine was already hugging Caesar and Cindy goodbye. She didn't look happy, her emerald-green eyes were red and blotchy, her skin was pale, and her hair was wilder than normal. I actually felt sorry for the girl.**_

_** When Taylor reached Jazmine, the two girls hugged and cried one last time. I just watched there was nothing I could do to make my sister feel better. Not now anyway. Once the two girls let go, Riley went over and hugged Jazmine before going in his pocket.**_

_** "Here, if you need reminding where your roots are," he said taking out a silver chain. It was his first chain. "And if any bitch calls you an Oreo, tell them my name and I swear those bitches will calm down. You a Freeman."**_

_** "Thank you," she said.**_

_** "And if that don't do it, then call me and I'll beat a bitch's ass," Cindy said. Taylor gave a small laugh, an improvement over the last week.**_

_** "Jazmine, hurry we up so we can be on the road," Ms. Walkmen said.**_

_** "Five minutes, please." Ms. Walkman just rolled her eyes as she got in the car. Jazmine looked over at me and walked over.**_

_** "Can you promise me something?" she asked me. I raised an eyebrow as she continued. "Can you please tone down the things you say, it made me upset and though I got what you were saying, I felt like you were bullying me. Promise me, that when you get older…you will actually learn how to love people. Learn to be happy."**_

_** "Alright," I said. She leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek.**_

_** "Everybody finds love, even the most cynical of boys." She hugged Taylor and Cindy one more time before getting inside her mother's car and everybody watched as she drove away.**_

_** A few days later, we hadn't heard a word from Mr. DuBois so Granddad and I went across the street to check on him. The door was unlocked and the moment we walked in, we smelled a foul odor. Granddad told me to wait downstairs as he walked upstairs. When he opened the master bedroom door, the smell became more potent and Granddad screamed, "Oh, Lord! Huey call an ambulance!" Mr. DuBois killed himself by shooting himself in the head after drinking four times the legal limit. He could no longer be in this world because he lost the one thing he truly loved, his daughter. It was sad and unbearable, knowing how one girl kept one neighborhood sane.**_

_** We called Ms. Walkmen the day after we found him, but she said that she had no desire of telling her daughter that her father died. She said that it would be best to just say that Mr. DuBois forgot about her instead of letting him know that he killed himself because he was a stupid, coward of a man. I was going to tell her off, but she hung up in my face.**_

_** Part of me wished Jazmine never left.**_

_**End of Flashback.**_

* * *

_Setting_: 1398 Warwick RD-Harper Hill, Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Time_: 11:45 P.M.

_Huey Freeman_…

The reception started winding down around ten, so after Riley and Cindy left to spend the night at the Marriott that was downtown, everybody started leaving. I was the one who took Jazmine home because apparently Cindy signed me up for the job. I didn't mind, unlike everybody else who rode around with me, Jazmine was silent. The ride was long and old school hip-hop was playing on the radio and Robby was sleeping in the back. Good thing he didn't have school tomorrow, he could sleep all day if he wanted. He had a lot of fun with the other kids at the wedding; they played with the kiddie gift bags Cindy and Taylor put together and blew bubbles in their separate room.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" I asked her as we drove into Harper Hill. I knew that Tianna was behind me, I saw Randall pull into their house from the rearview window.

"Yes, it was fun. I'm happy for Riley and Cindy," she said.

"Yeah, me too, even though they've been together for years. At first, I thought they would never get together," I said. We were quiet again. "Look, I already told Caesar but don't worry about coming to work tomorrow. We all had fun together and to be honest, I think Caesar's a little drunk so just don't worry about it." Jazmine nodded her head as we pulled into my driveway. I saw a car in my driveway, in my spot. I decided not to worry about it at the moment. I walked Jazmine back across the street, Robby in hand.

"Thank you taking me home," she said as she grabbed her key.

"You're welcome," I said. "Let me know if you need anything from me." She nodded and opened her door, heading back inside. I walked back across the street as the person who was parked in my driveway got out their vehicle. I immediately knew who she was.

Her hair grew out and she wore a 2NE1 tee with a pair of jeans and the latest black DC converse shoes. She still had a beautiful body and her eyes were still golden brown and warm.

"Alyssia."

**YES! THE EX IS BACK, WHICH BRINGS UP A VALID POINT…IS SHE REALLY AN EX? IT'LL BE EXPLORED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER (DAMN I LOVE THIS LAPTOP)! TAP THE REVIEW BOX OR TYPE YOUR REVIEW BELOW!**


	6. Heartache

**Heart of a Freeman**

**Krys723**

**A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR! The holidays are over and it's time for me to get back to the thing I love to do the most, write. Did you all have a good holiday and…what did you do for New Year's Eve? I watched **_**Doctor Who**_** because I love, Love, LOVE the tenth doctor. Tell me what you did in the box below and now OWNARDS!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own **_**The Boondocks**_**! I only own my own characters!**

* * *

_Setting_: 1375 Warwick RD-Harper Hill, Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Date_: September 18TH, 2020

_Time_: 7:30 A.M.

Chapter Six

Heartache

_Taylor Freeman-Caesar_…

We didn't get home until sometime after midnight. We had to drive to Hanover and pick up the twins from Caesar's Mom who didn't mind watching them because she loved being a grandmother and then it took us an hour to get home. Mind you, I was the one driving because Caesar had to go and get a hangover and he couldn't drive with his alcohol level over the legal limit. This wasn't only because he was famous, but also because he was smarter than some niggas these days. When Caesar and I got home, I put the twins to bed while Caesar went in our master bedroom and fell asleep. I didn't get to sleep until one, but since this was the norm for me considering that I taught Korean at Huguenot High School, I didn't mind. What I did mind, was being woken five hours later by my phone.

Reaching over Caesar because that's where our phones charge at night, I grabbed my phone and saw that it was Huey. Ain't this a bitch? He don't like being woken up at seven o'clock in the morning, what the fuck is going on?

"Hello?" I said once I pressed the **'TALK'** button.

"Did you know your best friend is back in town?" he asked me on the other end.

"Huey, I have a lot of friends so please be specific," I said in an irritating voice.

"I'm talking about the one who _**went to South Korea after college**_," he said in a dark voice on the other end. Ok, that was specific enough. Wait.

"What do you mean Alyssia's back in town?" I asked him sitting up on the bed.

"I mean she's asleep in my living room, she was waiting at my door last night after I dropped Jazmine off," Huey practically shouted on the other end.

"Well, you've always wanted her to come back and now she's back," I said.

"She can't be around Robby!" Huey yelled into my ear. Caesar started to stir beside me and I shook my head, sometimes my brother didn't understand his feelings towards people and though I think it would be nice to him to get together with Jazmine, she's getting married soon and apparently she loved his arrogant ass. It would be nice to see him get back together with Alyssia.

"Huey, you wanted her back and you two never _officially_ broke up. Now get back together with her and let me go to sleep," I said.

"Taylor, everything isn't as simple as you and Caesar. Not everybody can be together since high school," Huey told me. And with that, I hung up the phone and went back to sleep. There were times I'd help my brothers out, but Huey needed to learn this lesson on his own. I decided to do what I did before Huey called and laid down on top of Caesar.

"Baby, was that Huey?" he asked me as he wrapped his arm around me and I laid my head down on his chest. Caesar didn't have a stomach, he just had a six-pack.

"Yeah, but don't worry about it. He'll be fine," I said as I drifted back to sleep.

* * *

_Setting_: 1395 Warwick RD-Harper Hill, Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Time_: 8:00 A.M.

_Huey Freeman_…

I've been up since six; I couldn't sleep at all last night knowing _she_ was down there asleep on my couch. After calling Taylor and getting absolutely no advice from her, I decided to finally head downstairs and fix breakfast. It wasn't heavy Robby and I were still pretty full from eating at the wedding last night, so I just decided to fix buckwheat blueberry pancakes and fresh, organic fruit. Just as I finished making two pancakes for Robby, I heard his footsteps coming downstairs. I poured him a glass of orange juice in his favorite _Cars_ glass just as he came in the kitchen.

"What are you doing up this early little man?" I asked him as he started eating.

"You cooked breakfast so I got up," he said. I smirked and patted his mini-Afro before heading in the other room and seeing if Alyssia was still asleep. She was, so I went back into the kitchen. "Daddy, I thought I saw Mommy asleep in the living room. Is that her?"

Better to tell him now than later. "Yes, that's your Mom, but she's kinda tired so I wouldn't go in there right away. She's sleeping and I don't want you bothering her like you do me, instead you're going to head over to Mrs. Stevens' house and play with Gina."

"Mr. Stevens says that you and Mrs. Stevens get along too well," Robby said. "He thinks that she likes you."

"Well, as I've told Mr. Stevens over and over again, I am not in love with his wife. Now go get ready and I'll drop you off," I said. Robby finished the remaining pancake on his plate and ran upstairs to his room to get ready.

After dropping him off at Tianna's—Randall was gone so I couldn't punch him like I wanted—I walked back to the house and when I opened the door, I saw Alyssia was sitting up and putting her long hair in a ponytail. I felt my member getting hard as I saw her, damn I missed her.

"Hey, did we wake you?" I asked her as I closed the door behind me so none of the neighbors would see that was wearing nothing but her 2NE1 tee and a pair of black boy shorts.

"No, I was going to get up anyway. So, I'm sorry if I'm just popping in like this, I wasn't planning on it. I mean, I was planning on coming back to America because of my visa expired, but—"

"You haven't changed, when you get nervous you ramble for hours," I said. Things between us suddenly got serious; I could feel in inside me. I just had to ask. "So what are you doing here?"

"I got a job teaching at Taylor's high school, they needed another advanced Korean teacher, so Taylor emailed me about it," Alyssia said. I really wanted to hurt my twin, but I knew there were two sides to every story.

"So how did you find me?" I asked her. "I don't remember giving you my address, sure we emailed each other now and then, but I haven't sent you a letter since I still lived in the apartment."

"That's because it wasn't you, it was Robby. Apparently Taylor gave him my P.O. Box in Busan and it just went from there," she said. "I know you told him I was living in Korea, like you should and while at first I was startled, I looked forward to every letter he would send me. His writing really has improved since his first letter," she said. Nothing was said between us, I was trying to think about what to do. I can't punish Robby, he just wanted to talk to his Mom and I did tell him that she was going to come back.

"Huey, I missed you," she said at last. "I was hoping we could at least consider getting back together, for Robby's sake."

"I don't know, just because we didn't officially break-up doesn't mean things haven't changed, you honestly hurt me when you left," I said. "What if you have to leave again? And Robby was only a baby when you left the first time, he's older now. He'll know if something isn't right."

"Huey, I'm not leaving again, I promise," she said. "I want to be with you, I know I shouldn't have left, but I wanted to go further than I've never gone. I wanted to explore."

"We had a son! Do you know how hard it was after you left, he hated me for eight months!" I shouted at her at last. "He wouldn't eat, he wouldn't sleep, he wouldn't play. Aly, it was like dealing with a newborn. Taylor and Cindy were practically _living_ with me because my son wouldn't let me take care of him. It took me a long time to get him to understand that you wouldn't be back for a while. I don't want to go through that again, so I'll let you stay here, but I can't date you."

Alyssia nodded and got up, giving me a tight hug. As weird as it sounded, this felt right.

* * *

_Setting_: 1398 Warwick RD-Harper Hill, Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Time_: 6:30 P.M.

_Jazmine DuBois_…

"Excuse me, how long are you gonna be gone again?" I asked him while he packed his clothes. Today, Tyson was leaving for a 'business trip' and if I heard him correctly, then he said that he was gonna be gone for a few months. That's if I heard him correctly, which I think I did.

"Three months?! Tyson, I'm two fucking months away from giving birth to you child and your fucking leaving me?!" I shouted. "Who are you fucking?"

"I'm not fucking anybody, except you. Look, Jazmine its good for business and whatever's good for business, I need to be there."

"No, _I_ need you. Your future son/daughter needs you, what if you don't make it back in time for the birth? What am I supposed to do?" I almost cried.

"Call your mother," he said matter-of-factly. "Now will you please stop yelling, you'll upset the baby." I glared at him; I couldn't believe he just said that.

"_I'm—I'm upsetting the baby_! If anything, I'm standing up for my baby because he's getting a deadbeat as a father!" I shouted at him. "I can't believe your choosing work instead of your family, your fiancée!"

"Jazmine, calm down, I'm not saying it again. If our baby doesn't come in November as planned, I will dump you because you don't listen," Tyson said. I did stop shouting, but I continued to glare at him. "Now, I knew you wouldn't do it, so I did it anyway. Your mother will be here tomorrow afternoon, so I advise you to get the guest room ready. I'll call in the morning to check up on you."

"I hate you," I said through gritted teeth.

"Baby, if you hated me then you would've left a long time ago, something you're afraid to do because your just like your mother, the only thing you two love is money. Money and power," Tyson said. "Now I have to leave, so I'll call in the morning."

It wasn't until fifteen minutes after he left that I took my phone out my bag and called the one person who could probably help me.

"Hey, Taylor can I stay with you for a little while?"

* * *

_Setting_: 1395 Warwick RD-Harper Hill, Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Date_: September 30TH, 2020

_Time_: 12:30 P.M.

_Huey Freeman_…

It wasn't until a couple of weeks later that I saw Tianna. Ever since Robby told me that Randall thought Tianna was having an affair with me behind his back, she's been avoiding me and I've been focused on my business. Jazmine—who was staying with my sister for some weird ass reason—was now on maternity leave and with Riley on his honeymoon in Honolulu, things have been truly hectic at AfroCentric. She looked different; she wasn't her usual sarcastic self…as if something was wrong with her.

"What's up?" I asked her as I let het inside. The house was empty, Alyssia was at work at Robby was at school and I was working from home today. "It's been awhile since I last saw you."

"That's because I've prepared to move," she said in a hushed voice. "It seems that my husband thinks that I'm in love with you and do be honest…I am. I don't know when it happened, I guess it's because you've been around me so much. That's why we argue. We've been married seven years and I thought _nothing_ would get in our way…then I met you."

"Tianna—I can't love you like that, you're married and you've been my best friend for three years," I said. "Hell, up until I met you I had a thing against white people besides my brother's wife."

"I'm glad I changed your mind, Freeman and I'm going to miss you. Gina's gonna miss you _and_ Robby, that's why I couldn't send her over here. She'll get sad that she's losing out on a great friend like Robert Freeman."

"He was named after a great man," I said. She leaned over and did the one thing she always wanted to do, she kissed me. And I didn't stop her, it didn't matter. She tasted like cinnamon and brown sugar. When she let go, I saw her purple eyes starting to well up. Like me, Tianna was never one to cry. "Robby's going to be OK, I promise. He's a Freeman."

"If I wasn't married, would you have dated me? Even once?" she asked me.

I gave her an honest answer and shook my head. "I would've never thought you liked me." She laughed and gave me one last hug.

"You are a weird person Huey Freeman, and trust me this isn't the last time you'll see me," she said. She let go and walked out the front door for the last time. Damn I was going to miss her.

**FINALLY, I'M BACK! NOW I'M NOT GOING TO LIE, BUT I HAD A REALLY HARD TIME WITH THE END…I ALMOST CRIED WRITING IT. REVIEW BY TAPPING THE BOX OR WRITING IN THE REVIEW BOX BELOW!**


	7. Obsession

**Heart of a Freeman**

**Krys723**

**A/N: As usual thank you for the reviews and since we've reached chapter seven, then it means that its time for the chapter countdown. I don't know what my end chapter is so the only thing for you to do is keep on reading until I'm ready to tell you when to stop reading. It's a delicate process, so ONWARDS!**

**DISCLAIMER: I only own my own characters, if it's in **_**The Boondocks**_** genre…then it's not mines!**

* * *

_Setting_: 1375 Warwick RD-Harper Hill, Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Date_: November 18TH, 2020

_Time_: 3:30 P.M.

Chapter Seven

Obsession

_Taylor Freeman-Caesar_…

"How about this one?" I asked Jazmine as we through another set of websites, trying to find an apartment for Jazmine because there was no way in hell she was staying with that bastard anymore. After she told me that he married her for money, I went off and wanted to take my earrings off, but Caesar talked me out of it…as he always did. I might have Caesar's last name—which is ironically the name he goes by—I was a Freeman through and through. I would've had Riley on my side, but he was still in Hawaii at the time. So of course Jazmine was going to stay with me, I even talked her into getting her own place so she could move a few weeks after she had her baby. Speaking of baby, her stomach was getting bigger by the day and the twins loved patting it constantly. It was cute, anything they did was cute…they were my babies.

"I like it," Jazmine said and it's not that far away from the office, so when I go back to work I can just find somewhere for the baby to stay during the day.

"Girl, I told you just let me drop her off at Caesar's Mom. She doesn't mind, she loves little kids as long as it's not a full-time thing," I said. "And besides, I trust Caesar's Mom better than those stupid daycare centers, its like they don't clean at all. I took the twins there one time, when I got back they were sick and had to go to the hospital. The next day I had to call the health department and a week later, that daycare center was shut down."

"What about Kindecare?" Jazmine asked me.

"Too expensive. They want more out of Caesar and I because Caesar's famous, its not worth it," I said. "I remember Huey used to leave Robby with Tianna Stevens, but you know she moved away with her family last month."

"I heard, do you know the reason?" Jazmine asked me. I was about to respond, but I heard a knock on the door and went to open it. Before I could even see who it was, a blonde blur hugged me tight.

"Your back!" I said when I realized that it was Cindy and Riley was behind her. I hugged her tighter. "Jazmine, Riley and Cindy are back."

"Jazzy, you're here too! I was going to head down to your house, but I saw your car," Cindy said. She let go of me and her and Riley entered my house. I would be teaching, but it was teacher's day and it gave me time to spend with my girls who were sleep. I was also working from home, grading papers from my last exam.

"Hey, how was your honeymoon?" Jazmine as Cindy hugged her, but it wasn't as tight because Jazmine was nine months pregnant and anything could make her pop. Riley patted her on the back as he sat down, Cindy sat in his lap.

"Gurl, I recommend you coming to Hawaii, it's so beautiful," Cindy said. "Riley and I got a lot done, didn't we?" Riley nodded as the two started making out.

"You two are freaks," I said. "There is a baby here."

"So where's Kovu and Caesar?" Cindy asked.

"Their working, they'll be glad when Riley's back so it wouldn't be so much since Jazmine went on maternity leave," I said.

"Yeah, I don't wanna go back," Riley said and I rolled my eyes. "I just got back, I've been gone two months and those two niggas still put out good shit. Give me one more day of rest." Then I felt a puddle of water underneath me and looked over at Jazmine.

"Jazmine…did you water just break?" I asked her. She nodded and I heard Riley swear.

"Damnit, I just brought these shoes!" he shouted as he helped her up. Cindy went and opened the door and I placed Jazmine in the back of my car.

"Just keep doing your breathing exercises, OK?" She nodded as she started breathing and I turned to Riley and Cindy. "I'm going to take Jazmine to the hospital, I need you to take the twins over to Caesar's Mom and call Huey and Caesar along the way. See you later." They nodded and the moment my car hit the road, I drove faster than normal to Chippenham Hospital. I wasn't going to get caught in this traffic.

* * *

_Setting_: Maternity Ward-Chippenham Hospital, Midlothian Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Date_: November 19TH, 2020

_Time_: 3:30 A.M.

_Huey Freeman_…

It's been twelve hours since we arrived at the hospital and every one of has been taking turns going in and out of Jazmine's hospital room, trying our best to calm her down while she was gearing up to give birth. Caesar and I arrived at least five minutes after Jazmine and Taylor did and Riley arrived 30 minutes later because he needed to change his shoes. I wanted to ask him if they were ruined, but his expression said it all. By the time Taylor came out, she asked me if I wanted to go back and I just nodded, I was tired of watching this _What to Expect Now She's in Labor_ crap. After putting on the scrubs the doctors provided, I walked inside Jazmine's hospital room and saw her in pure pain. Never doubt that women are stronger than men.

"Hey," I said as I put the mask over my mouth. "What's going on?"

"Are you trying to be funny?!" she screamed as she went through another contraction.

"It might help," I said as I sat down in the little stool with wheels that made me look ridiculous. "No seriously, why isn't Tyson here?" The pain stopped, but she glared at me.

"He said that he was _on business_ and he would be gone for like three months," she said with a sadness. "I mean, he's the one who got me this way so shouldn't he be here?"

"Yeah," I said. "But to be honest, he's a jackass and you don't deserve that."

"But I'm marrying him," Jazmine said. "And despite what everybody says, he loves me."

"If he loves you so much then he would be here instead of me," I said and before she could answer, a doctor along with his nurse entered the room.

"Alright, Jazmine your fully dilated. Its time for you push," he said. He then looked over at me. "Sorry, but you'll have to leave now. Unless your family." I was about to leave, but I felt a slim hand holding onto mines. A curtain was placed between her and her stomach.

"Please don't leave me!" she cried. I looked over at the doctor who shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care. I had no choice but to stay.

"Alright, Jazmine on the count of three I want you to give me a big push," he said. She nodded her hand and grabbed my hand. I already knew what was coming, my hand was going to hurt really bad for the next few days. "One…two…three, PUSH!" Jazmine screamed as pushed with all her might and I wanted to scream too, but held it in.

"I'm sorry, Huey," she said in near tears.

"Don't worry about it, I'm not in any pain," I lied to keep her focused. "Just keep pushing."

"PUSH JAZMINE!" The doctor shouted and Jazmine screamed once more. "I can see the head, just one more push and it'll be all over. PUSH!" Jazmine gave one final push and the next thing I heard was the crying of a newborn. It was a girl. But there was one little problem.

"Why is my stomach still big?" she asked.

"Because your having twins," the doctor said.

"WHAT?!" Jazmine shouted—well more like cried.

"Just give me one more push, Jazmine, OK? PUSH!" Jazmine pushed one more time and I heard the crying of another newborn. This was a boy. "Congratulations, you're the proud mother of a girl and a boy." After the babies were clean off and the umbilical cords were cut off, he handed them over to Jazmine who was smiling.

"Hi, little man, I wasn't expecting you," she said with a smile. "I already picked out name for your sister. Her name's Alexandria Elizabeth DuBois. I guess I can name you Thomas Samuel DuBois, JR." I looked at her as a nurse brought me a bag of ice. Tyson was an idiot.

"Well, congratulations," I said. I was about to leave, but she tugged my hand.

"Do you want to hold one of them?" she asked. I was about to answer when the door opened again and low and behold…the devil himself showed up.

"Tyson, look. Twins," she said with a smile.

"Baby that's great," he said with a smile. He walked over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking and I missed you. Thanks for watching over her, Freeman."

"She doesn't deserve you, she deserves better," I said. And with that, I walked out the room. When I entered the ward; Taylor, Riley, Cindy, and Caesar looked at me.

"She has twins, a boy and a girl and Tyson's back," I said as I headed towards the elevator.

"Huey, I'm sorry," Taylor said as the elevator doors opened.

"Sorry for what? Nothing happened," I said. I got in the elevator and once the doors closed and the elevator started moving down, I sat down on the floor and wished that I was in that room instead of Tyson. She truly deserved better…but it wasn't going to be me.

* * *

_Setting_: 1398 Warwick RD-Harper Hill, Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Date_: November 22ND, 2020

_Time_: 3:30 P.M.

A few days later, I was doing some work in the living room and Alyssia was at her own apartment with Robby when I heard a knock on the door. When I opened it, I saw that it was Tyson and Jazmine they each held a baby. Tyson was holding Alexandria and Jazmine was holding Tom.

"Tyson, what are you doing here?" I asked. I was used to Jazmine visiting, but Tyson would always get on her case when she came by to visit. Jazmine spoke up.

"We wanted to invite you to our wedding next month, it's on the 22ND and it would mean a lot if you and Robby came," Jazmine said.

"Jazmine, I don't do weddings. I barely wanted to go to Riley and Taylor's weddings, so I'm sorry but I can't make it," I said.

"It'll be really fun, I promise," Jazmine said. Her emerald-green eyes shone brightly and she smiled. She was practically glowing as a brand-new mother.

"Alright, I'll come. Anything else?" I asked. Jazmine saw that her twins were getting fussy, which meant they were either hungry or they needed a nap.

"Tyson, the twins are hungry."

"I'll come along in a minute, you carry them back to the house," Tyson said. Jazmine held her other hand and carried her babies back to her house across the street. Tyson took a step further inside my house without my say-so.

"Look, just because Jazmine wants you at the wedding doesn't mean I do. I want you to understand something Freeman, Jazmine is going to be _my_ wife not yours," Tyson said. "So don't try anything. I heard what you said the day the twins were born. She's getting the best there is, I make more money than you and unlike you, I have feelings and emotions. Your sadistic and the fact your teaching you son that—"

I slammed him into the nearby wall and had my hands on his neck, I was five minutes from strangling him.

"_First and foremost_, we've been over this shit back in July. You _never, ever_ talk about my son! I will fucking cut your head off if you do it again. Second of all, I said that shit so _she_ could hear it and the fact that she's still marrying you after all the _bullshit_ you put her through means that she's kind-hearted and is willing to look the other way when it comes to slime like you. And lastly, if you even try to put a hand on me…it will be the last time you see life, are we clear?" I let him drop to the ground.

"You making threats Freeman?" I asked him.

"No, because Freemans don't make threats…they make promises and believe me, I never break a promise. I'll see you on the 22ND, Tyson and you better behave beforehand," I said. Tyson glared at me before he walked out my house and back towards his. Stupid motherfucker.

**SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK? AND NO, I'M NOT ENDING THE STORY AFTER THE WEDDING BUT A LOT WILL HAPPEN IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! REVIEW BY WRITING IN THE BOX OR TAPPING THE REVIEW BOX BELOW!**


	8. Deception

**Heart of a Freeman**

**Krys723**

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, as always I love you and you are all awesome! I don't have much to say, so ONWARDS!**

**DISCLAMER: I DON'T OWN **_**THE BOONDOCKS**_** IN ANY SHAPE, FORM, OR FASHION! I do, however, own my own characters.**

_Setting_: Carmichael Industries, Midlothian Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Date_: December 20TH, 2020

_Time_: 5:30 P.M.

* * *

Chapter Eight

Deception

_Tyson Carmichael_…

"Tyson, your five-thirty is here." I nodded my head as Dianna, my new secretary left the room. She had a nice body, which is why I hired her. I had to fire my last secretary, Melissa because she was a lesbian and she would've filed a lawsuit, but I found a way to keep her quiet for the rest of her life. Now Dianna, I'll ask about her status before she leaves for the night. I won't be able to do it after tonight, I have to get ready for the wedding and I have two babies at home waiting on me. Their mother…not so much. I took a swig of cognac as the door opened again and Sarah Walkmen walked in.

Her blonde hair was in layers and even though she was almost forty, she had a body of a twenty-year-old. I've had a crush on Sarah Walkmen since I was in college, but unfortunately for me she was married at the time so I decided to date her daughter to get closer to her. I brought Jazmine every goddamn thing in the world and I'm the father of her twins, but she's just not satisfied. We have one of the biggest houses on Harper Hill, I've gotten to know all her damn friends, and I even put her best friend's little brother and husband in my wedding party became my own friends wouldn't be able to make it. I even invited _Freeman_ against my better judgment, and she's still not happy.

"Hello, Sarah. I believe you have something that I want," I said as Sarah came further and further into my room. Sarah Walkmen nodded and pulled a check from her delicious cleavage. It was a check for $50,000 and it was made out in my name.

"This is the first of six installments. Apparently when my ex-husband died, he had $300,000 made out in Jazmine's name for when she turned eighteen, but since she's marrying you…I thought you would benefit from it." I smirked as I took the check from her and placed it in my pocket. I'll cash it out later.

"A man's supposed to have more than his wife anyway," I said. "So are you staying with us before the wedding?"

"I just dropped my stuff off at your house, but I decided to come over here because _you_ have something that I need," Sarah said. She tugged on my collar and I brought her down so I could make out with her. Unlike Jazmine, Sarah knew how to use her body and she wasn't afraid to suck on my dick when asked. She was in the middle of sucking my dick like a lollipop when my phone rung and I saw that it was Jazmine.

"Hello, Jazzy. How are you?" I asked her.

"Tyson, when are you getting home? I need help with the twins, I can't get them to sleep," Jazmine said on the other end. I kept in a moan as Sarah started stroking my dick with her pink lips.

"Baby, a man gotta work to pay for the wedding, now I'll see you later. Why don't you get started on dinner for me and you're Mom, I'm in the mood for steaks," I said.

"We can't have meat tonight, the rehearsal dinner is in two hours and since Huey's walking me down the aisle—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I held out a hand to Sarah could stop for a moment. "What the fuck do you mean Huey Freeman's walking you down the aisle? Jazmine, I said that you can _invite_ Freeman to the wedding, he's not walking you down the aisle."

"I need somebody to walk me down the aisle, it wouldn't be perfect without that one significant detail and as you know, my father's _dead_!" she shouted on the other end.

"You know what, fine. Let him walk you down the aisle, but he's not sitting at the long table during the reception. That's the one thing I _refuse_ to let happen," I said. "Understand?" I hung up the phone before she could say another word.

"Your daughter's an idiot."

"Don't worry about that now, just worry about how much pain your dick's going to be in by the time I'm finished with it," Sarah replied. I smirked again as she went back to sucking my dick, damn she was a good woman.

* * *

_Setting_: 1398 Warwick RD-Harper Hill, Southside Richmond; Richmond, VA

_Time_: 7:15 P.M.

_Jazmine DuBois_…

"Taylor, thank you so much for helping me," I said as I placed Alexandria inside her crib in the room that the twins shared. After Tyson hung up in my face, I had no choice but to call for backup. With Taylor and Cindy helping me, I finished fixing the food for tonight along with putting the twins down for the night. Hopefully, they'll stay asleep, but as always I have a monitor on hand just in case. For the dinner, I let Taylor choose what to fix and she ended up going Korean. She fixed a Korean vegan barbecue with vegan cold noodles, brown rice, and these Korean-styled coquettes that Taylor made by hand.

"No problem, I'm glad to help in any way I can," Taylor said. "I should be your fairy godmother."

"You know I don't believe in fairy tales," I said with a laugh. "I just want this wedding to go right, but something deep down is telling me that I'm making a mistake."

"Does it have an Afro?" I laughed as we headed back downstairs. Cindy was down talking to my Mom, who must've just pulled up.

"Mom, where were you? You come here and drop your bags off and then head out," I said confronting my mother.

"Oh, Jazmine, there's no need to worry about me. Now, I need to go upstairs and change into something more…pleasant," Mom said. She was about to head upstairs when she saw Taylor, it made her stop. "Oh my, is that little Taylor Freeman?"

"Hello, Ms. Walkmen," Taylor said with a forced smile.

"Nice to see that you married well, right now upstairs I must go," she said with a wave. She walked upstairs and I rolled my eyes as Taylor, Cindy, and I finished setting up for everybody else to arrive.

Everybody started coming around thirty minutes later; even Taylor and Cindy went home to get ready. The twins were still asleep—which was a good thing trust me—and Tyson came home not that long ago to change. He wasn't as mad as he had sounded on the phone; he even gave me a kiss when he came in. He didn't mind the vegan food either

"It'll be nice to have a change in menu," he said as he got out the shower and started getting dressed. I looked at myself in the mirror. Tonight, I was wearing a red cocktail dress it was my first time showing off my body since I had the twins. I looked good…it was as though I had gotten even more shape.

"Damn you look so sexy, even sexier than you did before we had the twins," Tyson said as he wrapped his arms around my waist. He started kissing my neck, but it was like he didn't feel _into_ it. "Too bad I'm going all the way to Virginia Beach tomorrow morning, because I would like to do stuff to you."

"And you already know that the doctor says I'm not ready for that. You'll know when I'm ready," I said as I freed myself and grabbed the baby monitor. "Now everybody's waiting and I don't want to be rude." I kissed him on the cheek and headed downstairs just as I heard a knock on the door.

When I opened it, I saw that it was Huey and Robby. Though they were dressed up, their jeans were pressed and they wore sports jackets over their AfroCentric tees.

"Robby you look so handsome!" I said as I crouched down to hug him.

"My Daddy says that wearing suits show repression against African-Americans," Robby said. "May I see the babies?"

"Well, they're asleep now, sweetie but I'll let you see them tomorrow before you go to Virginia Beach with your Daddy, OK?" He nodded and smiled, going into the kitchen. I looked up and saw Huey standing there.

"You don't look bad like most mothers would after birth," he said. "So how's motherhood treating you?"

"I'm getting better at it every day," I said with a smile. "Now if I had a mature kid like Robby, things would go by a lot faster."

"Trust me…it wouldn't, there are times he actually acts his age," Huey said.

"You should come in," I said as I led him inside. He nodded and we walked in, heading inside the living room where Mom was doting on Robby.

"Oh my, if it isn't Huey Freeman. It's been a long time since I last saw you," she said. "Don't you remember me?"

"Yes, Ms. Walkmen I remember you," Huey said. "Robby, are you bothering her?"

"No, sir," Robby said. "She just saw me and picked me up."

"He's just the cutest little boy and I swear he's going to be like his Daddy when he gets older," Mom said. "Isn't he Tyson?"

"Your right mother, we need more people like Freeman. How are you today, Freeman?" Tyson asked as he shook hands with Huey. Huey complied, but only because his son was there. They shook hands with glares in their eyes and when they let their hands go, I felt tension in the room.

"So, Huey. How's your grandfather? I haven't heard from Robert in a while," Mom said.

"My Granddad passed away the day my brother graduated," Huey said.

"Oh, I am so sorry to hear that," Mom said. "Well, as much as I would love spending the evening there with all of you, I have business to attend downtown. I'll be back later."

"Mom, this is the rehearsal dinner," I said.

"I know and technically I'm not in the wedding, I'm just gaining a son. Now, I'll see you later; have fun at your party." I shook my head as she walked out the door, sometimes that woman was unbelievable.

* * *

_Time_: 9:30 P.M.

_Huey Freeman_…

After dinner and dessert, I decided to head home with Robby, who was falling asleep in my lap. I still needed to get him ready for Alyssia's tomorrow and since he was going to be gone for a whole day, I needed to tell her what he ate and what he didn't even touch. If she knew me, then she would realize that Robby's eating habits differed from mines, but it's been a while and since this is the first time Robby's went over somebody's house since Gina left, I needed to write everything out. After Robby was put to bed and I finished writing everything out, I sat down on the couch and watched TV. I knew Taylor was going either come over or call me and I betted on her calling me, asking me if I was OK and me telling her that I was fine yet again.

It's been like this for the past month, when I saw Jazmine and Taylor would around, she would ask me how I was doing because Jazmine's wedding day grew nearer. I didn't even want to walk her down the aisle, but it's something that Taylor begged me to do because Jazmine didn't have anybody else to walk her down the aisle. Tom died a long time ago. Fifteen minutes later, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

"Yes, Taylor?" I asked as I answered the phone.

"Huey?" Shit, it was Jazmine.

"Oh, sorry I thought you were Taylor. So what's up?" I asked her as I sat up.

"Can I come over, I won't be long I promise," she said. I sighed and looked around me house. Yep, clean as always.

"Sure, but bring your baby monitor just in case you hear your twins," I said before hanging up. I left the front door unlocked and two seconds later; I heard Jazmine's small hand knocking on it. "It's open."

Jazmine came in wearing a pair of pink, cotton pajama pants with a white tee and her black pleather jacket. Her strawberry blonde hair was straightened out for the wedding and her emerald eyes looked even more beautiful. She was so damn sexy…and smart.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I don't love Tyson and I don't want to marry him," she said. I sat up and looked at her. "It's just that…your my best friend and if he doesn't like you then—"

"Jazmine, what the hell is going on? You love that stupid idiot for some damn reason; I don't need you to not marry him because you're protecting me. I don't need protection, Tyson knows what happens if he lays a hand on me," I said.

Jazmine took a deep breath and looked at me. "I was thinking about what you said the last time we were alone. You asked me if he loved me as much as I loved him and I'm ready to give you my answer."

I ushered her over to the armchair beside me and she sat down. "What's your answer?"

"I don't know how he feels," Jazmine said. "One moment he's mad at me and the next he wants to fuck me. I want this marriage to work; I don't want to end up like my Mom and Dad. Ever since the day I left, my Dad hasn't called me once. It wasn't until I was sixteen that my Mom told me that he never wanted to see me again."

"That's not true, Jazmine your father loved you a lot," I said. She looked up at me and saw how sad her emerald green eyes were, Sarah never told her. "Jazmine, after you left, Granddad and I went over to his house and this awful odor greeted us after I kicked the door down. We went upstairs and the smell got stronger and once we reached the hallway, Granddad told me to stay, he didn't want me to see any more so I stayed as Granddad walked down the hall.

"He checked your old bedroom and the bathroom and the guest room, but once he got to the master bedroom…Jazmine, your father drunk four times the legal limit and then he blew his brains out, literally. Granddad said he saw the back wall covered in blood and brains and we called your mother the next morning, we told that you might want to come and say goodbye to your Dad, but she said she wanted nothing more to do with him and she had no intentions of telling you. I'm sorry, but your Mom lied to you, and here."

I went under my coffee table and pulled out my safe and after putting in the password—the first four digits of my social—I handed her a letter that I snuck out of Tom DuBois' old bedroom before the police got to it. I handed it to her, but she was already on the verge of tears so I just read it out loud.

_To my Jazzy bear,_

_ If you ever see this, then this is your father, Tom. I miss you so much, it feels like only yesterday I held you in my arms and kissed you on your forehead. Though you hated me for a few weeks because you thought your Mom was marrying Usher, I realized that you were only having the fantasies that all ten-year-old girls would have now. But you're not ten anymore, are you? No, your twelve and this letter will be my only and last letter to you. I miss you already and you've been gone almost a day. Jazmine, you won't be able to see me anymore because my time on Earth has passed. I know that you'll grow up to be a beautiful, smart and successful woman. Unlike the person who birthed you, you'll also grow into a beautiful mother. You'll care for your children the same way I cared for you. And I want you to marry for love, not money and not fortune. One last thing, I left you $500,000 in life insurance if I passed, I tried to hide it all from your mother, but unfortunately she took $200,000 in the divorce. You will the rest of the money in installments after you turn eighteen. It's my gift to you._

_I love you,_

_Daddy_

"Jazmine, I'm sorry," I said after fifteen minutes of silence. She gave a small smile as she nodded her head in understanding.

"It's alright, thank for telling me the truth," she said getting up. She was about to leave, and I don't what came over me, but I just kissed her. Her lips felt like soft pillows and she tasted like strawberries, my favorite fruit. Her fingers played in my hair and her emerald eyes were like whirlpools, I was caught in them. My heart and mind took over as I led her towards the couch and I lay down so she could get on top of me. I didn't know how long we lasted, but when I woke up the next morning, Jazmine was asleep on my lap and I had to gently wake her up and she raced home before Tyson noticed she was gone. Damn I was in love with the woman.

* * *

_Setting_: Downstairs Ballroom-Marriott Hotel, Downtown Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Date_: December 22ND, 2020

_Time_: 11:45 A.M.

_Jazmine DuBois_…

"Ms. DuBois?" I was waiting outside for Huey when I heard a woman's voice call my name. I turned around and saw a woman walk up to me. I realized that the woman was Tyson's secretary, Dianna Lowes, she and I got along very well, but she's never been by the house. I considered her a friend, so why was she calling me Ms. DuBois instead of Jazmine?

"Hey, how are you?" I asked as I gave her a hug.

"I'm fine, listen, I won't stay long but you look really beautiful and you deserve so much better than the man you're marrying," she said. I looked at her before giving her a motion to continue talking. She took a deep breath. "Well, it happen a couple of days ago, the night of your rehearsal dinner. A woman named Sarah came into Mr. Carmichael's office—"

"My mother, why did she go to Tyson's office?" I asked her.

"He left the door opened a little and they said something about a check for fifty thousand and then the next thing I heard was moaning," she said. "So I peeked inside and I saw them having sex."

"What?" I looked her in disbelief; I felt tears going down my eyes. I couldn't believe what she just said and yet, I knew something was going on…they were too close. I needed to sit down, I needed to think too many thoughts were going through my mind. The next thing I did was lean against the nearest wall and cried. I wanted to sit down, but I didn't want to ruin my dress. Yeah, I kissed Huey, but that's all we did. Tyson cheated on me with my mother. I felt ugly and used, so I cried.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. DuBois," Dianna said.

"I'm glad you told me before I made the biggest mistake of my life," I said as I wiped another tear away. I never felt so disgusted before. "Can you please bring Taylor and Cindy back here; I have to talk to them right now. They're my bridesmaids." Dianna nodded and seconds later, Taylor and Cindy came through up along with Caesar, Riley, and even Huey who was just coming around the bend.

"Jazmine, what's going on? Why are you crying?" Taylor asked me. I just hugged her and cried on her shoulder. She and Cindy stroked my hair. "Jazmine, what's wrong?"

"Tyson cheated on me!" I cried.

"What?!" Caesar, Huey, and Riley shouted.

"With who?" Cindy asked.

"My mother," I said.

"**WHAT?!**" Taylor looked at me and saw how serious I was and hugged me tighter.

"Taylor, I can't breathe," I said.

"Well, the longer I hold on you the more I don't have to kick his ass!" Taylor said. I struggled to get out of Taylor's grip. When I finally freed myself, I sat down on the bench that was close to the door.

"I can't walk down that aisle," I said as Taylor and Cindy sat down beside me.

"And you're not; you're not getting married to that bastard!" Taylor said. "You don't even have to walk down the aisle. You have five people who'll always, _always_ protect you. Now listen up, Jazmine, Cindy and I will go to Mommy's house and get the kids, while Huey, Riley, and Caesar call off the wedding."

"Can I get some punches in?" Huey asked.

"Not in front of a whole bunch of people, do it in private take him to a dark room and beat the shit out of him, just not here," Taylor said.

"Come on Taye, the bastard cheated on her with her own _mother_!" Riley said. "I say we beat him down!"

"For once I agree with these two," Caesar said.

"**DON'T BEAT HIM HERE!**" Taylor said. "Come on, Jazmine."

"Wait…I want to do it," I said. Everybody looked at me, but it was Huey who spoke up.

"Are you sure?" he asked me. I nodded.

"Did you two make out?" Riley asked.

"Can we talk about this later?" Huey asked.

"You know we're talking about this later," Taylor said. Huey glared at her before he grabbed my hand and the two of us entered the room. The people were buzzing and were about to sit up, but I shook my head at the organist and she stopped playing the music. We walked up to where Tyson was.

"Robby, go outside with your aunts and uncles," Huey said. Robby got up and walked out the room and once Huey made sure he was gone, he did the one thing I knew he was going to do…he punched Tyson right in his face. Mom got up to defend, just like I knew she would. Everybody around him gasped.

"Jazmine Elizabeth DuBois, get your friend out of here now!" she shouted as she helped Tyson up.

"He had every night to punch him," I said. I then turned to Tyson who was stumbling to get up. "What were you doing the other night? Why did it take you so long to get home and why did you smell like sexy? Do you wanna know why I know all of this, it's because you _cheated_ on me with my fucking mother!"

"Jazmine, you have no proof of that," Tyson said he was holding his nose. It was swollen, damn, Huey got him good. "I think you're leaving me because you have feelings for Freeman."

"_Huey_ is a million times the man you'll never be. He's a great father, friend, brother _and_ he knows not to fuck your own _**MOTHER**_**!**" I shouted. "I am leaving you, Tyson Carmichael and I'm _**NEVER**_ coming back!"

"Fine, you can leave, but you're not taking my kids!" Tyson shouted.

"Yes, I am! I don't want them to learn _**ANYTHING FROM YOU, YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH**_**!**" I shouted. "And if you were wise, you should sign over custody now while their still kids. I can't believe I spent five years with you and the only thing I got out of it is you fucking my mother."

"Jazmine, please don't leave me," Tyson said.

"Trust me, Tyson its better that I found out before I actually married you." I turned to Huey who was nursing his hand. I started walking up the aisle, but before I did, I heard Huey punch Tyson on more time before following me.

"You know Taylor's going to kill you," I said.

"Yeah, if she could even touch me," Huey said. When we were back outside, I hugged Huey tight.

"Thank you." He didn't say anything, he just hugged me back.

**ALRIGHT, THE CHAPTER IS FINALLY FINISHED AND I FINISHED BEFORE CUREW FOR MY YOUNGER READERS! TELL ME HOW IT IS BY TAPPING THE REVIEW BOX OR WRITING IN THE EMPTY SPACE BELOW!**


	9. So Beautiful

**Heart of a Freeman**

**Krys723**

**A/N: I've been brain-frozen on this chapter all week-long, which is weird because I was about to put out Episode Four of **_**The Boondocks React To…**_** just like that in one day. Anyway, enough of me babbling on, it's time to read. ONWARDS!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN **_**THE BOONDOCKS**_**, I ONLY OWN MY OWN CHARACTERS!**

* * *

_Setting_: AfroCentric Headquarters-Downtown Richmond, Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Date_: January 24TH, 2021

_Time_: 12:00 P.M.

Chapter Nine

So Beautiful

_Huey Freeman_…

Riley, Caesar, and I were waiting in the conference room while Jazmine was outside on the phone with the coordinators of one of the biggest underground fashion events. It was called Lucas Springs. If we get invited, it would mean two weeks in D.C. where we could promote AfroCentric, participate in the hugest underground fashion show in the East Coast, and on the last night attend a banquet dinner that was hosted by its founder, Kentigerna 'Kenni' Lucas-Burnham, one of the most well-named underground fashion designers in the world, she was the one who brought on the underground fashion movement. Jazmine knows that we've been waiting for this call for the past two weeks, so when the call came in today, she forced us out of the room so she could talk to them without us hearing on the other end. I'm not as excited as Riley and Caesar, but after everything that's happened in the past few months, it'll be nice to take a break for two weeks.

"What's she saying out there?" Riley asked me as he started pacing. "I knew one of us should've stayed in there." I rolled my eyes as I leaned back in the chair. Riley's been on edge lately, Cindy's pregnant and this time it's not a pregnancy scare. He's scared and while Caesar and I have prepped him for fatherhood, he scared that Cindy might miscarry since they've already been through two pregnancy scares in high school. There was no point in telling him to relax, he just wanted the baby to survive the first month before he could relax and get excited about fatherhood. He had a couple more weeks to go before that happens.

"Jazmine knows what she's doing, she's been here long enough to pick up on what to say and what not to say," I said. Caesar nodded in agreement and Riley sat back down in his favorite chair. Five minutes later, Jazmine came in the room and smiled.

"So we're invited and we have to leave on the first of February. Wives are invited and so are children who are ten and older, I tried bargaining for at least Robby, but no budge. Apparently last time young children were invited, there had been a lot of drama so they decided to up the age limit," Jazmine said.

"So where are we staying?" I asked.

"You'll be staying in the ultra-cool Hotel Helix in downtown D.C. There will be fifty other designers there for the next two weeks so you guys will really have to sell AfroCentric, especially since this is like the first time you'll be there. The first week you arrive, you'll be getting ready for part in the fashion show, which will be split down the middle for two days. I managed to make you last for the second day, trust me the sponsors will remember you if you're last…_especially_ if you're last on the second night so you'll have to really stand out. Copies of the schedule for the next two weeks will be in your emails either tonight or tomorrow morning and the banquet on the last night does cater to vegan needs as long as your request gets in beforehand. Any questions?"

Riley, Caesar, and I looked at each other before looking at her. I was the one to ask.

"Aren't you coming?"

"No, I'm not a part of the company," she said while she shook her head.

"Bitch please," Riley said and I had to smack him upside his head. "Nigga what was that for?"

"Not every girl is a bitch," I said.

"Alyssia's a bitch."

"Anyway, Jazmine your coming no if, ands, or buts about it. We might need you and after everything that happened between you and Tyson, you need this more than anybody…well expect for Riley," I said. "So come, OK?"

"Thank you, Huey," she said with a smile. "Well, I should get back to work. Do you guys want anything from that Korean place that's fifteen minutes away from here?"

"Can we get a pizza?" Caesar asked. "I'm in the mood for pizza."

Jazmine nodded and after we told what we wanted, she grabbed her car keys and her coat and headed out the door. When she was gone, Riley and Caesar looked at me.

"I still can't believe you haven't asked her out on a date yet," Caesar said. I rolled my eyes as I stood up, unlike Caesar and Riley I preferred to get my part of our winter collection done.

"It's only been three weeks, she might not even be ready," I said.

"I'm just saying, she's hot…who knows what might happen while we're in D.C.," Caesar said. I sighed as I walked out the room and headed back in the other room to continue my work for the day.

* * *

_Setting_: Lucas Springs Headquarters-Downtown D.C.; Washington, D.C.

_Time_: 8:30 P.M.

_Kenni Lucas-Burnham_…

"Is everything ready?" I asked my secretary, Isabella Louse. She nodded and I smiled, I loved it when the first of the year came around, underground fashion shows were usually best when you planned them ahead of time and the Lucas Springs Underground was the best of the best because I started planning in July. I've been an underground fashion guru ever since I was six and I started making clothes when my parents didn't have much money.

I actually wanted to be one of the greats when I was younger, you know like Alexander McQueen and Chanel, but my calling was underground and I didn't realize it until I was fourteen and my clothes started selling like they were the last things on earth. I started with young kids and worked my way up since, but this go around would be the last one for me. Though I would continue the fashion shows, my time making clothes was done.

You might think: What a woman of almost thirty-five years of age thinking about retiring my gift, but the thing people don't realize is that I've worked for a long time and I got a great group of friends, an amazing family, and three wonderful children who were entering their pre-teens to look out for. And besides, I felt that it was time for me to handle down the torch and since none of my kids plan on following in my footsteps—which is good because I encouraged that they find their own paths—I decided that this year I would keep an eye on the designer I find most interesting. Looking through my pile, I discovered a lot of good designers, but just as I was going to close my books, I found one that wasn't too far from me.

Isabella, my secretary entered my room again; her eyes hands were filled with papers for the upcoming two weeks. "Do you know anything about this place called AfroCentric?"

"Not much just that this is their first time and they've taken over the East Coast and starting to work with the West Coast," she said with a bit of a strain in her voice. I nodded my head. "Do you want me to gather information?"

"Please do first thing, some of their stuff is actually better than mines and I think I might find my successors," I said. She nodded and walked back to her desk. I was just about to shut down after Isabella left, but I heard a knock on my door and saw that it was Ami, my youngest. She might have a better shot knowing about this AfroCentric than Isabella.

Out of all my children, Ami looked like me the most in both facial and bodily features. Her hair was long like mines and was as close as midnight black as mines; her eyes were round like mines but they were auburn brown like her father's; and her skin was a dark caramel mixture of Jason's and mines skin complexions. Her body was blossoming into a replica of mines, though she was only in her pre-teen stage so it won't completely blossom for a few years. She was thirteen while my oldest daughter, Noël was fifteen and my eldest child, Raymond "Ray" was seventeen.

"What's up sweetie? Why aren't you at home?" I asked her as she came further inside my office.

"I was just getting out of basketball practice when I decided to stop by," Ami said. Her hair was in a ponytail and she was wearing the basketball sweats she would wear after practice. Her favorite red basketball was in her hand so she was either at practice or she practicing at the high school basketball courts with friends from her team. I know that parents would actually freak out when they have an athlete in the family, but I actually want my daughter to have fun while she's playing basketball and if she managed to get a scholarship from it in four years, then that's good and if not, then it wasn't the end of the world. Like Jason and me, all of our children were smart enough to put themselves through college with little to no help from me.

"I was about to leave, did you want to ride with me?" She nodded with a smile and I laughed as I grabbed my coat and followed her out the office door. I said goodnight to Isabella and Ami and I walked down to the car garage to where my baby, my 2013 vintage turquoise Lamborghini stood. Ami threw her things in the back before getting in the passenger's side where I was already seated. "So I was wondering if you knew anything about this name, AfroCentric?"

"Yeah, the girls on the team talk about them a lot, though they only talk about Huey Freeman. He's the main founder and the only single one remaining…even though he has a son," Ami said with a smile on her face. "Did you invite them this year?"

"Yes," I said with a smile. "So what else do you know about them?"

"They've been working on AfroCentric since college and their like multi-billionaires, they've donated money to their favorite charities over the years and they all live in Virginia, they're close-knit event though two of them are actually brothers," Ami said. "Are you going to invite them to the house for your private banquet?" I thought about this for a moment.

Every year, I would invite a group of fashion designers to my house for a get-to-know you dinner right before the banquet. I might actually have to invite them because between the information that Ami's giving me and the minimal information that Isabella's going to give me in the morning, I wasn't going to have enough to be sure that this trio of African-American young men would be my successors…hell, I don't even know if they'll like it. I needed that receptionist's number again.

"I think I might do that," I said as I pulled out of the driveway of my headquarters and drove the twenty-minute ride back home.

* * *

_Setting_: AfroCentric Headquarters-Downtown Richmond, Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Date_: January 25TH, 2021

_Time_: 6:30 A.M.

_Jazmine DuBois_…

Somebody must really hate me. The moment I opened the office doors, I hear the phone ringing at the desk and had to quickly set the food down so I could answer it. I made it just before it hit voicemail, the last thing I needed was Huey Freeman angry with me for not answering the phone quicker.

"Hello, AfroCentric Headquarters, this is Jazmine DuBois speaking and how may I help you?" I answered in my polite voice even though I was tired of crap. Both of the twins are sick and while its nothing more than a cough, I took them to the hospital and considered calling in sick this morning, but Taylor had a teacher's day at her school and said that she would be able to watch them. I told her that I would pay her back for this, but she said that there was no need because we were friends and not to consider this a favor.

"Yes, Ms. DuBois, this is Kenni Lucas speaking," said the female voice on the other end. I almost dropped the phone. Yesterday, I only spoke to her secretary, but today I actually get to hear the phone of _the_ Kentigerna "Kenni" Lucas.

"Yes, ma'am how may I help you? Neither, the Freemans or Mr. Caesar is in now. They won't be there for another thirty minutes, is there anything I can help you with?" I asked, my voice now in between star struck and polite. Screw being tired, this is Kenni Lucas we're talking about.

"I need you to take a message for me, Ms. DuBois, do you have a paper and pad available?" she asked. I got the paper and pad where all the messages were kept and turned to the next page. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, ma'am." I was just getting to write when the door opened and Huey and Riley came in. I quickly shooed them to the converse room before Kenni started talking again. They went with raised eyebrows and their food.

"Tell them that Kentigerna Lucas called with an invitation for a get-to-know dinner the night before the Lucas Springs Fashion Event. This means that they'll need to leave Richmond six days from now instead of seven. I'll send the directions to my home to their accounts and that the dinner starts at eight. This is a required event as I know that of the Freemans to be stubborn," she said. I almost had to laugh, Huey hated dinners like this. "So will you give them that message?"

"Yes, ma'am I will," I said.

"Alright then, Ms. DuBois is there where we say goodbye. So goodbye," she said. I said my goodbyes and the next thing I heard was the dial tone. I put my pen back behind my ear and grabbed the pad just as Caesar came in, yawning.

"Conference meeting, now," I told him just as he went to grab his breakfast. He pointed to it and I nodded, sometimes it was hard-working with men, the only things they wanted was food and sex and since they were all too polite not to hit on me, it was mainly food. The moment I entered the room, Huey spoke up.

"Who was that on the phone?" he asked.

"Kentigerna Lucas," I said simply as I sat on the long conference table between Huey and Riley. "You guys are invited to her private Get-To-Know dinner that happens the night before the actual event takes place so we'll need to leave on the thirty-first instead of the first as its been planned before."

"So we need to like work throughout this whole week in order make sure we have enough to last throughout the next two weeks?" Huey asked me.

"Pretty much and its mandatory because only a selected group of people get invited," I said.

"Did you at least try to decline?" he asked.

"No, this is Kentigerna Lucas we're talking about! She's the Queen of Underground fashion, do you really want to upset her?" I asked him. "A girl would die for a chance to meet her. Do you imagine how AfroCentric would look if you _don't_ go to this dinner? You might not be able to take part in the show and your stubbornness will be your downfall."

"She's right, we gotta go," Riley said. Caesar nodded in agreement.

Huey turned to his two brothers. "The only reason we've survived this long was because of my _stubbornness_ and we can bounce back if this company ever goes under." And then he turned to me. "You had no right to tell her that we'd go, I don't care who the woman is. Queen or no queen, you should know by now what I will go and what I won't do."

I hopped off the table and faced him, making me feel taller than I ever was. "You weren't in the office when the phone rung! If you had came before me, the I wouldn't have answered and you could've declined just like that and you wouldn't be having a fit."

"I'm having a fit because your starting to become that Jazmine that I hate, the one who always takes things into her own hands without consoling a nigga," Huey said. "You work for me, not the other way around." There was absolute silence between the four of us, Riley and Caesar knew when to stay out of it.

"If that's the way you feel, then I quit." And with that, I walked out the room, grabbed my bag and headed back home. I felt like having another _Waiting to Exhale_ moment like I did with Tyson when I burned his clothes and car after he left me for my _mother_ but I couldn't think of anything bad enough, I loved Robby to death and Huey and I weren't dating. But what he said hurt so the only thing I could do was cry.

* * *

_Setting_: 1375 Warwick RD-Harper Hill, Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Time_: 7:15 P.M.

_Huey Freeman_…

"**IDIOT!**" I went over Taylor to get Robby after work and apparently she heard from either Riley or Caesar that Jazmine quit after our argument so as soon as she opened the door, she smacked me. I would've smacked her back, but I wasn't in the mood, I felt bad ever since she walked out the door. Sure I've fired receptionists in the past, but Jazmine just walked out and quit.

"Taye, I'm not in the mood so just give me Robby so I can go home," I said.

"Nigga, you ain't going home. Your going to march yourself over to Jazmine's and apologize for being dumb as shit and beg her to take her job back," Taylor said as she marched into the living room. She must've been smile when she came back with Robby, who was smiling when he saw me.

"Hi, Daddy!" he said as he hugged me. I picked him up and hugged him back, it was the only thing that kept Taylor from killing me because just like her kids, she doted on him when I wasn't around. Hell, she doted on him when I was around, she always managed to give him pieces of fish when she hosted barbeques in the summer and now he won't stop eating it. I suppose its good for him, but damn I don't want to touch meat or any kind. That's why I'm vegan.

"Huey, you know you didn't mean it so go over there and apologize," Taylor said. "She was distraught and she was still crying when I told her to tell me what was wrong."

"Fine, I'll apologize but I won't beg," I said. "Come on, Robby let's get you settled before I go across the street." Once we were back home and Robby had his dinner and was placed in bed, I used the walkie-talkies I got him for Christmas and set one up by his bed and took the other one with me so I could head over to Jazmine's and apologize.

Before I could even knock, I saw the door open and Jazmine came out, her coat on. She glared at me when she saw me at her door.

"What do you want?" she asked me.

"Why did you open the door, you didn't give me enough time to knock," I said.

"I saw a figure outside so I was going to come out and shoot," she said as simply as if she was talking to Taylor. "In case you hadn't care to notice, its raining outside."

"Yeah, I really love the rain. Look, I came over to apologize and ask you to take your job back. I was angry, but I shouldn't have said that," I said. "So can you please take your job back so Taylor can be happy?"

"No, I quit," she said. She was about to slam the door, but I grabbed it before her hand could swing.

"Jazmine, I'm sorry. What do I have to do in order for you to take your job back?" I asked as I led myself inside. She stepped back so I could come in. "I shouldn't have said it, I'm full out apologizing and this is something I _never_, ever do and I don't want to do it again so can you please just accept my apology?"

"You really expect me to take me to take my job?"

"Yes!"

"Give me one reason why!"

"Because I love you, that's why! I felt shitty all day, I never wanted you to leave and I shouldn't have said it, but I fucking love you and if you don't accept this apology than me coming over here would be useless! I'm confessing my love for you, just like I should've done that night we made out then you wouldn't have experience the pain that Tyson gave to you. Look, I don't care if you don't ever want to date again, but at least take your job back so this argument can end between us."

And just like that, she kissed me and I kissed her back. Damn I was good.

**WHOO! AFTER TWO WEEKS OF EMPTINESS, I FINISHED THIS CHAPTER IN ONE DAY! TAKE THAT WRITER'S BLOCK! Review by either typing in the review box or tapping the review box below and I promise my next update will be quicker than this! Oh and Walkie-Talkies are awesome, ya'll just don't know don't doubt a 90s toy lol if you were born in the 90s…then you know what I mean. And Kentigerna is African-American and German descent, she just has more African-American in her.**


	10. Lucas Manor, Prt I

**Heart of a Freeman**

**Krys723**

**A/N: For all of you who are wondering after reading my last chapter if Juey is officially together…then I am not going to tell you that because if you did not read the chapter and understand it then I'm going to tell you to read it again. For those of you who understood the last part of my last chapter…ONWARDS!**

**DISCLAIMER: I love you all, but I do not own anything _Boondocks_-related, I do own my own characters and that's about it.**

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_Setting_: AfroCentric Headquarters-Downtown Richmond, Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Date_: January 31ST, 2021

_Time_: 7:45 A.M.

Chapter Ten

Lucas Manor Prt. I

_Huey Freeman_…

The next few days went fast, preparing for the trip was probably one of the hardest things I've had to do for the business, we've been gone before but that was during the weekends and we stayed in Richmond. Going out of town for two weeks and leaving the store unattended by at least one of us—even Jazmine who knew the business like the back of her hand now—was going to be hard.

On the morning that we had to leave, I took Robby with me so Alyssia could get him and drop him off at school. Though against my better judgment and having no other choice, Alyssia was going to watch Robby while we were in D.C. and she recently started dating some Spanish teacher from her school. I didn't like this shared custody agreement and was contemplating whether or not to file for full custody based on the fact that she left him alone with me in the first place when she left for South Korea when he was two. What if she decided to leave again, she wasn't going to take him with her and leave me.

I hadn't told anybody about this yet, but it's something I've thought about for a while. When we pulled up to the building, Robby didn't look happy that I would be leaving for two weeks. Alyssia wasn't here yet; she and Jazmine went to take the babies up to Caesar's Mom house in Hanover and would catch up with us at our first rest stop. They were also taking Cindy, so Riley and Caesar were riding with me.

"Why can't I go?" Robby asked me as we headed upstairs to wait for Alyssia. She had another fifteen minutes to get here and then I was going to drive up there and since that would take me fifteen minutes off schedule, I was going to head to D.C. a mad black man. Unlike other African-Americans, I actually liked the idea of having a schedule.

"Because little man, you're not thirteen. If you were thirteen, then we would be able to take you with no problem," Riley said as he picked him up and placed him on his shoulders. I rolled my eyes, just like Taylor, Riley liked doting on him but unlike Taylor, he didn't know when he did it. Caesar saw roll my eyes and snickered so I smacked Caesar upside his head.

"So you and Jazzy finally dating huh?" Riley asked me. I nodded.

"I like Ms. DuBois. She's better than Mommy, she'll probably let me stay up late and we can watch _Doctor Who_," Robby said.

I sighed because she would do that.

"Nigga, I told you not to let him watch that show," Riley said.

"Shut up," I said as I patted Robby's head. When we got to the office, Riley let Robby down and he looked out the window.

"Are you sure I can't go?" Robby asked me.

"Do you want me to take a picture while we're there to prove my point?" I asked him as I sat at my desk. Robby thought about it for a moment.

"Yes," he said. I turned to him and Riley and Caesar started laughing so I smacked them both upside the head before I patted at the extra spot beside my chair so he could sit beside me. "It's not fair, I've always wanted to go to D.C. and when you get the chance to go, I can't go with you."

"Look, Ms. DuBois fought hard all week to see if you can come, but she couldn't change their minds. No kid under the age of thirteen can come, how do you think those twelve-year-olds feel?" I asked him.

"I guess their pretty pissed too," he said.

"Don't say pissed," I said.

"You swear all the time." This only made Riley and Caesar laugh louder.

"I can't wait until your kids get older," I told them. "We'll see who's laughing then." That got them both to shut up as I turned back to Robby. "Look, if it means that much to you then we'll to go D.C. for your Spring Break, how does that sound?"

"OK," he said with a smile. He hopped off the chair just as the door opened and Alyssia came up. I looked at the time on my laptop, she had five minutes to spare. "Mommy, guess what? Daddy and I are going to D.C. with Ms. DuBois for Spring Break!"

I looked up and Riley and Caesar started laughing again. Alyssia didn't look happy, so I smiled. She's been aggravating me with this Angelo nonsense for the past three weeks, so revenge was definitely a bitch. I cleared my throat. "Robby, go downstairs and wait for your Mom. I see she has a few words."

Alyssia smiled. "Yes, I do want to have a few words with your Daddy. Angelo's waiting downstairs for you." I put on a smile as Robby hugged me goodbye and headed downstairs. The peanut gallery finally stopped laughing and they headed downstairs behind Robby. When the downstairs door closed, I sat back on top of my desk and waited for Alyssia to start.

"You're dating your secretary? When did this start?" she asked me.

"Does it matter? You've been dating Angelo for three weeks because every time you come and get Robby, you somehow have to slide his name into our conversations," I said. "Look, I wanted to talk to you anyway, so you might want to sit down because I have some disturbing news for you."

"I think I'm going to stand," she said.

"I offer you a seat and you refused, typical. This is why I can't stand being nice," I said. "Oh well, who am I to care if you fall on your ass. I want you to enjoy every moment you can with Robby for the next two weeks, because when I get back I'll be fighting for sole custody on the grounds that you're unpredictable."

"You can't do that," she said. "I'm not going to let you, just because you're dating your secretary."

"I'm going to ask you one time, do not put Jazmine in this. She's more than just a secretary and I had to learn that lesson the hard way, so I don't want you to learn it the harder way which is me beating the shit out of you. And I'm trying to stand in a good mood because I have to go to a very important dinner in a little more than twelve hours," I said.

"He's my son," she said.

"And if your ass would've stayed here in Virginia like I fucking told you two five years ago, then we wouldn't be talking about this shit! You had your chance, you screwed up and now I want sole custody. You don't deserve to be in his life," I said. "I'll see you in two weeks."

"You're not going to really do this are you?" I asked her as we walked out the office. I sighed and turned to her.

"You're a good mother, I'd give you that…but you screwed up your chances with Robby," I said. "I do have one favor; do not mention this to Robby. I want to tell him when I get back. Just have fun with him and let him stay up on Fridays so he can watch _Doctor Who_. You can go now." Alyssia walked down the stairs and put on a brave face as she went and hugged Robby and the two got in their car. I also saw a Hispanic man in the passenger seat and saw that it was the amazing Angelo. He was OK, not the greatest thing in the world.

Alyssia drove off and I got back in the driver's side of my car. Riley was up front and Caesar was in the back as I started driving.

"Man, I don't like her," Riley said as I started driving. "Good thing you tapped that ass when you did cuz she a bitch now." Caesar started laughing as I smacked him upside the head.

"She's not that bad, she's just overemotional," I said as I started driving. Once we were on the road, the ride to D.C was one hour of listening to music and trying to decide how to we were going do our bit for the fashion show next Friday. With Riley in the passenger seat, we gathered all of our ideas and we reached Hotel Helix in Downtown D.C. in no time. When we pulled into the parking lot, we met up with Taylor, Cindy, and Jazmine were waiting for us in the lobby. Even though it was only a month, I could see a baby bump forming around Cindy already, though it was small.

Because the Hotel Helix was the closest to the venue where Lucas Springs Fashion would be for the next two weeks, Kentigerna Lucas was going to pay all the participants stay and the Hotel itself was filled with people trying to check in and getting the best rooms that the hotel had. Because AfroCentric was at the top of the list, we got three of the best rooms on the top floor. Jazmine and I decided to share a room instead of getting two separate rooms even before we started dating so nothing changed.

"So how was it riding with Cindy and Taylor?" I asked her as she started unpacking.

"The whole time they asked me how it was dating you," Jazmine said as she shrugged her shoulders. "So I just told them that you're a horny little boy who comes over every night to do horrible things to me."

I turned to her. "I am not always horny," I told her.

She giggled. "Yes you are, last night you were trying to have sex with me on my couch. And the night before when I came over to help Robby with his math, you were trying to make out with me in front of him. Face it Huey Freeman, beneath that tough exterior, you're a horny man."

"I was not trying to make out with you in front of my son," I said in defense.

"And I'm a queen," she said as she sat on the bed. "Now are you going to quit pouting or not?"

"You're lucky I like you," I said as I put the rest of my belongings away. She went to the door and grabbed a red sign and placed it outside.

"And I'm lucky that you're always horny, my horny man," she said.

"Screw you," I said as I got on top of her.

"Isn't that your job, Freeman?"

"Shut up." Good thing I packed condoms the night before.

* * *

_Setting_: Dining Area-Lucas Manor, Victoria Village; Pontiac River; Washington, D.C.

_Time_: 7:30 P.M.

_Jazmine DuBois_…

Later that evening, we got dressed in our formal attire for dinner at the Lucas' manor and waited downstairs in the lobby for the limo that would take AfroCentric and four other clothing designers to Lucas Manor. The Lucas Manor was family-owned, meaning that Kentigerna's great-great-great grandfather owned the land and build the manor before handing it down to his eldest child. When Kenni got married to her husband, her Dad passed down the manor and when Kenni's eldest son, Matthew gets married then he would be next in line for the famous house. The manor was four stories tall with a spacious dining room, two living rooms (one of them was called a sitting room), a kitchen that a woman would die to have, and it had seven bedrooms and 5.2 bathrooms. The best part of it was the view; it was right on the Pontiac River.

At 7:30 on the dot, a shiny, black limo pulled up to the hotel and a middle-aged man with blonde hair came out and opened the door. We were heading to Lucas Manor with two other fashion designers, one of them were Stonebrooke Internationals and catered to mainly European fashion and the other was The Minority, which catered to well, the minority. Stonebrooke was owned by a woman named Justina Jones; she was in her late-forties and a former model that turned into a fashion designer once her contract was up. She was white with red hair and when she saw Huey, she was looking him up and down. It's a good thing Huey doesn't like the majority of white women, though who would be interested in her cougar ass? Well, besides her husband that is.

Melanie Omens was the founder of the Minority, which I've heard about because she and Huey were enemies. She was an African-American woman with grey eyes and she was one of the few people taller than Huey. When he found out that she got invited to the fashion event and the dinner, this added more to his fuel about how much he didn't want to go to this dinner. When he saw her getting inside the limo, I had to hold on his hand to keep him from getting in an argument.

"Well, well if it isn't AfroCentric and company," Melanie said as we entered the limo.

"Well, well if it isn't the bitch," Huey said.

"Still got a problem with me Freeman?"

"I don't know, why don't you tell me?"

"Aye, mane I don't want to hear this arguing shit," Riley said as he and Cindy entered the limo behind Caesar. Melanie looked directly at me.

"Well, well your new, aren't you? How long have you been involved in this family dynamic?" she asked me with a smile.

"Eight months next week," I said.

"What's your name?"

"Don't answer that," Huey said before I opened my mouth. "Look, Melanie I didn't come here so you can snake my receptionist like you did with Lydia and Kristina."

"I didn't snake them, I offered them more, which I'm going to do with your brand-new one. I mean, she's still ripe for the taking," Melanie said.

Justina looked over but kept her mouth shut as she talked to her husband in hushed whispers. Melanie smiled at Huey; she had perfect, white teeth.

"Your brother raises a valuable point; Kentigerna Lucas wants to get-to-know us because as you may or may not know, she's retiring at the end of the year. She's looking for a successor and she has enough money to settle down and be with her kids. That's why she's hosting this dinner party, she wants to get to know us to who see who will be her heir by the end of next Saturday night, during the last banquet," Melanie said.

"And how exactly do you know this?" Caesar asked her.

"I have my sources and I have one thing over you, Freeman and that's the fact that _my_ kid came come, she's four now," she said. "And how old is your boy again? Seven? Oh well, my daughter's back at the hotel if you want to meet her."

"Look, I don't need to pull strings in order for my son to get here, but your daughter will feel lonely among all the other teens here, unless she's planning on staying in her room time while Mommy works," Huey said.

"See, Freeman? _That's_ why you'll never have a girlfriend," Melanie said as the limo finally stopped among a dirt road. The driver got out and opened the right side door. Riley and Cindy were the first one out; Riley helped Cindy out so she wouldn't squash the baby. Once everybody else was out, Melanie walked up front while Justina and her husband walked in the middle. I stood behind Huey and held his hand, hoping to calm him down.

"I told you not to argue with her? You're just adding more to her egotistical flames," Caesar said. "Now she's definitely going to try to snake Jazmine."

"I'm not leaving you guys," I said. "I'm dating one of you."

"One of the things Melanie doesn't need to know about me, nor does she need your name so keep your mouth shut around her," Huey said. "Let her think I'm single."

"Oh, Huey it doesn't matter if I give her my name I'm not leaving you, especially now that we're dating," Jazmine said. "Why can't you relax?"

"Because she's egotistical."

"So what? Your Huey Freeman, you're a douche to most people but I love you anyway," I said as I gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Awww, young love," Caesar said.

"Shut up," Huey said. It wasn't long before we met up with Riley, Taylor, and Cindy and we finally reached Lucas Manor. It had a southern look to it, but it was still beautiful and painted a pale yellow on the outside. The limo driver led us inside the beautiful manor and into the dining room where we came face to face with Kentigerna Lucas and her family.

"Mrs. and Mr. Lucas, the guests has arrived."

**OHH! I GIVE YOU A CLIFFIE AND IT FELT GOOD! REVIEW BY TAPPING THE REVIEW BOX OR WRITING IN THE OPEN SPACE BELOW!**


	11. Lucas Manor, Prt II

**Heart of a Freeman**

**Krys723**

**A/N: First thing's first…our wait is nearly over because season four of **_**The Boondocks**_** will be coming it is official so I'm thinking either late spring, early summer maybe. As soon as I see that promo on Adult Swim then I'll officially freak out. In other FanFiction news, I posted an announcement on my profile page but if you haven't read it yet, then I'll make it here.**

**After I finish **_**Heart of a Freeman**_** then I'll be starting my Riley/Cindy collection but I'll also have a **_**Heart of a Freeman**_** sequel focusing on our little Robby, but he'll be seventeen in the sequel as he develops his first crush on an old friend. It's called **_**If We Ever Meet Again**_** and that'll give you some food for thought. Thank you .xox ****for **_**The Boondocks**_** news and the reviews from everybody and ONWARDS!**

**DISCLAIMER: Even though it's nice to hear some **_**Boondocks**_** news, I still don't own them. I do own only my own characters.**

* * *

_Setting_: Dining Area-Lucas Manor, Victoria Village; Pontiac River; Washington, D.C.

_Date_: January 31ST, 2021

_Time_: 8:00 P.M.

Chapter Eleven

Lucas Manor Prt. II

_Huey Freeman_…

"Mr. and Mrs. Lucas, your dinner guests have arrived." We entered a brightly-lit dining room that was decorated in chocolate browns and scarlet reds and in the middle of the room sat a white dining table that could fit at least twelve people, just enough since AfroCentric was a huge group by itself. A woman, who was already seated with her family stood up along with her husband and three children. The woman had long, raven hair with eyes that were a midnight blackish-blue. Her skin complexion was a caramel color and she had an amazing figure. She walked over and gave everybody a hug (I couldn't refuse since this was her house) and then she clapped her hands together in excitement.

"Welcome to my home!" she said with a smile on her face, showing her thirty-two pearly whites. "I am Kentigerna Lucas and I'm glad that you call could make it. How was your ride?" We all nodded in response as Kentigerna guided us towards the table and told us to sit down and make ourselves at home. I pulled out Jazmine's chair and she sat down before I sat down beside her. When I sat down, she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Dinner is a little late, so this is the perfect opportunity for me to get to know you. Let's start with the Minority, shall we?"

Between Melanie and her egotistical ass and Justina's quiet nature, it was thirty minutes of torture. When Kentigerna finally turned to us; Riley and Caesar turned to me.

"So your AfroCentric's spokesperson?" she asked me and I nodded. "So how long have you guys been in business?"

"Ever since high school," I said. "It was my brother's sophomore year and my brother-in-law and mines senior year. At first it was just something that we did to pass time, but once we realized that people liked what we made, we decided to do it full-time, but not right away," I explained to her.

"When did you start doing it full-time?" Kentigerna asked me.

"Not until my brother's freshmen of college."

"So it was just a natural talent you picked up, you didn't take any fashion classes while you were in college?" I shook my head no and she looked impressed. "A raw, natural talent. You don't usually see that with men when it came to fashion. I mean, the men who do fashion today are rappers who just want some more money, it gives men fashion designers a bad name you know. So do you think about retiring?"

"Not now, but we know we're not going to do this forever," I answered her. She answered as her secretary entered the room, her name was Isabella. She handed Kentigerna a piece of paper before bowing and leaving the room once more to continue to do more work.

"According to my sources, you're one of the top fashion groups that hit the American market, how come you don't want to expand to Europe and Asia?" she asked me.

"We want to stay as mainstream as possible, we don't plan on going overseas, but if we get orders from people in other countries, then we'll generally mail out our articles to them."

"Your very interesting, Huey Freeman," Kentigerna said. "And believe you me; I don't say the word interesting a lot these days." Dinner was soon served and everybody except for me and Kentigerna's oldest daughter, Noël had roast beef with French Onion Soup with extra cheese broiled on top and fresh bedrolls. Noël and I had probably one of the hugest bowls of vegan ramen that I've ever seen, even though Taylor made some large bowls of Korean ramen when she felt like having a big dinner but without all the hassle of actually cooking.

After dinner, we had a vegan chocolate angel food cake and coffee before it was time for everybody to leave. But we didn't leave without Kentigerna giving us a last message.

"By the end of these two weeks, I want the three of you stand out with the portion of fashion shows. It's good to have fun and all that, but listen to your hear when it comes to piecing together your designs. I want to see a lot of _interesting_ pieces. It's nice to meet you all, especially you, Mr. Freeman, I'm very anxious to see what's next for AfroCentric." She told us all goodnight and we followed her driver back to the limo where it was quiet as we rode back to the hotel for the night.

* * *

_Setting_: Helix Lounge-Hotel Helix, Downtown Washington; Washington, D.C.

_Date_: February 1ST, 2021

_Time_: 10:30 A.M.

_Jazmine DuBois_…

Huey's been quiet all morning long, well more like since we've been back last night. A lot of what Kentigerna said made him think and when Huey Freeman thought about one thing for a long time, an idea was forming inside that giant Afro of his. When I came downstairs to the Helix Lounge; he, Riley, and Caesar were eating the last of their breakfast. I was still full from Kenni's dinner last night, so I just had a glass of orange juice even though I would've sworn that it was a mimosa because I tasted champagne.

"Nigga, we gotta get started on this fashion show," Riley said as I saw Huey continuously drawing in the notepad he brought with him. "So why don't you tell us what's going on in your mind?"

"Here, I'm done," Huey said as he placed the black pen in his Afro. Riley took the notebook out of his hand and he and Caesar looked over whatever it was that Huey drew out. "It's an evolution of African-American fashion throughout the years, from the attire that was worn in Africa to what we're waiting today. We can get about ten men and women; five of each and dress them in chorological wear. At the end, we'll come out in AfroCentric's best pieces and take our bow. It'll be called _**African through the Years**_ and it's perfect since we're last."

"I like it, but are we going to be able to get it done by Saturday night?" Caesar asked as he handed Huey back the notebook.

"We got half the work done already, we don't have much to do and I already called in the ten people who were going to take part in it. I also got their measurements so that way the clothes won't be too snug," Huey said.

"Alright, nigga whatever you say," Riley said though I sensed a bit of doubt in his voice.

"Is there anything you need me to do?" I asked Huey.

He turned to me. "Think of this as your first major project. You have to be on the ball from this moment on. You can't screw up, Jazmine this is really important," Huey told me.

"Huey, you know me, I work harder than the three of you," I said.

"Jazmine, I need your word…this isn't just a day in the office. This is _really_ important," he told me. "Promise me that you won't miss a single step and listen to every word that Riley, Caesar, and I say."

"Huey, I promise," I said.

"Alright then, let's get to work." And with that, we paid the bill and went right to Huey and mine's hotel room to start working.

* * *

_Setting_: 1450 Greenbrook RD-Henderson Complex, Northsdie Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Date_: February 8TH, 2021

_Time_: 9:30 P.M.

_Robert Freeman Jr._**…**

I knew Mom was up to something, I could feel it deep down…like she didn't want me here because I reminded her too much of Dad. This is one of the times I missed Gina, her Mom would always watch me and never treated me like I wasn't alone…like most kids at school do. Grabbing my backpack, I dumped all of my books out of it and packed up as much clothes as I could. I listened out and made sure that she was still talking to her boyfriend, she was. I opened the window that was in my bedroom and climbed out. My Mom's house had a ladder on the side that vines would usually grow from. I put my left foot on the ladder and securely climbed out my bedroom, climbing down the ladder and carefully made sure that neither Mom nor Alonzo saw me.

When I was on solid ground, I turned towards the direction away from my Mother's house and did the one thing a seven-year-old boy could do…run. I ran until I was out of sight and then entered the woods so that way I couldn't be stopped by the police. When I made sure I was deep into the woods, I found a place to rest of the night. Even though I knew that if I closed my eyes in this weather, then I wouldn't be able to wake for a while, but I couldn't help it…I closed my eyes and fell into what I knew was a deep sleep.

* * *

_Setting_: RM. #509-Hotel Helix, Downtown Washington; Washington, D.C.

_Date_: February 9TH, 2021

_Time_: 3:30 A.M.

_Huey Freeman_…

Something was wrong, that's why I woke up the moment my cell phone vibrated on my bedside table. I looked over and saw that Jazmine was asleep. She was a heavy sleeper when she wasn't around the twins; it was a curse of being a newborn mother. When I looked on my caller ID, I saw that it was Alyssia and my thoughts went immediately towards Robby. I took a deep breath before answering the phone.

"What's wrong with Robby, Alyssia?" I asked her before she had time to open her mouth.

"Huey, I'm so sorry!" she cried on the other end. I could imagine her on the other side; she was bawling her eyes out. "Robby ran away into the woods!"

"**WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY?!**" I shouted at her. I felt movement beside me and I noticed that Jazmine turned on the lamp beside her. "**WHY WEREN'T YOU WATCHING YOUR SON?! GOD FUCKING DAMN IT ALYSSIA, YOU SHOULD KNOW HOW THE FUCK HE IS! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!**"

"Huey, I'm sorry! He was like this all week and every time I asked him what was wrong, he just shook his head! I didn't know he was going to run away into the fucking woods!" she continued to cry. "I'm so sorry, you have to believe me!"

"_**THIS**_** IS WHY HE CAN'T FUCKING BE AROUND YOU, ALYSSIA!**" I shouted at her. The door opened and in came Riley, Caesar, Taylor, and Cindy. Jazmine looked at me with worried eyes and I decided to end the conversation so I could get dressed. "When I find him, I want you to give up your custody rights…he doesn't want to be around you anymore and I don't want you to be around him. Goodbye." I hung up the phone and looked at Taylor and Riley.

"Get dressed both of you, we're going to Richmond and look for Robby," I said as I started to put on the jeans I wore earlier. Taylor and Riley nodded before leaving the room and I turned to Jazmine, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "I need you to call Kentigerna and tell her that we're dropping out due to family matters and that I'm sorry. Then you and Cindy can come back to my house and wait for us to get back. Caesar can get the kids."

"All four of them?" he asked me.

"Nigga, just do it before I cuss your ass out," I said. Caesar just sighed and left the room and Cindy followed behind him.

After we got dressed packed up all of our clothing, I gave her the backup set of my house key and she gave me one more kiss before we split up in the two cars and drove back to Richmond.

**So I left you at a semi-cliffy…that's still a cliffy nonetheless. Review by tapping the REVIEW BUTTON on your phone or writing in the box below of your on your laptops! And yes its short, but shorter is better sometimes.**


	12. Robby Freeman

**The Heart of a Freeman**

**Krys723**

**A/N: Just to let ya'll know I started writing this chapter the moment I got my first review LOL. That's a weird thing about me, whenever I get the first review from a new chapter then I get started on the next chapter, especially if I know how I want the chapter to pan out. In my last chapter, I tried to thank my friend for some **_**Boondocks**_** info, but I could not get their name to appear on the website, I even rewrote the name but my Document Manager would not accept, but luckily I did have my friend's Facebook name and I delivered the message personally. Also, **_**If We Ever Meet Again**_** will **_**NOT**_** focus on Huey or Jazmine but they will be a part of it. It will focus on Robby and I don't know if Juey will have a baby by the end of this or not. I have nothing more to say so ONWARDS!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything that retains to **_**The Boondocks**_**, I just own my own characters mate.**

* * *

_Setting_: 235 Patterson Drive, Northside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Date_: February 10TH, 2021

_Time_: 9:30 P.M.

Chapter Twelve

Robby Freeman

_Robert Freeman Jr_.**…**

I woke to the sound of a heater, my head was hurting and it was hard to open my eyes at first. It took a few tries, but when I did I saw another pair of eyes looking back at me. They were round and the color of dark honey. They belonged to a girl. I blinked at her and she ran out the room, jet-black hair followed her. Looking around the room, I knew this wasn't my room…especially due to the large amounts of _Hello Kitty_ that covered every inch. Her walls were even painted pink and she had two beds, I was in the second bed I guess. I heard yelling out in the hall and later footsteps came up the steps and into the bedroom. These footsteps belonged to a woman. She had long, black hair just like the little girl, but her eyes were grey, but not as grey as my Aunt Taylor's. They were both white and the girl was a few years older than me.

"It was about time you got up," she said with a smile. She walked over to me and placed her hand on my head. It felt cool compared to how hot my head felt. "My daughter found you in the woods while she was walking to school last night, I was afraid you might not ever wake up. You're the runaway boy the local news stations keep talking about. Can you talk?"

I nodded my head, but when I opened my mouth it was dry and I couldn't make any sounds. She understood immediately. "Veronica, go into the kitchen and get him a glass of water." The girl nodded her head and ran out the room. The woman kept talking.

"My name is Louise Norman, the girl who just left was my daughter, Veronica," she said. I nodded my head in acknowledgement. "We didn't learn about you until last night, I thought that it was best that you stay here until you woke up at least, then I would call your father and tell him to get him. He seemed very worried that something would happen to you on the TV." The girl came back inside the room, a tall glass of water in her hand. I practically begged for it, my mouth was so dry. I drunk more than half and I started breathing heavily.

"Alright now, what's your name?" she asked as she patted my lap.

"Robert Freeman, Jr. but my family and friends call me Robby. I'm name after my grandfather," I told her. "Are you going to really call my father? I don't want him madder than he already is."

"I honestly doubt that your father will be mad…right now. I honestly think that he's worried about you and he wants to know that you're back in his arms safe and sound. Now why did you run away?"

"I wanted to leave my Mom, she doesn't care about me. She only cares about her boyfriend," I said.

"How do you know that for sure? Your mother must be worried sick about, just as worried as your father," Louise said. She took a thermometer from her back pocket and shook it a few times. I knew what that meant.

"Alright, open up so I can take your temperature," she said. I reluctantly opened my mouth and she stuck the thermometer in my mouth. I pouted, but she only smiled as the minutes passed. When she took the thermometer out of my mouth and tsked at the sight. "110, that's not good. We'll see how it is by the morning, but for now I want you to take some medicine, get some soup in you and go to sleep. Do you eat meat?"

"No, ma'am," I said. "My father and I are vegans, though I do have the occasional fish because of my aunt."

She smiled again. "Alright, you relax here and I'll bring up some tomato soup, it's a good thing half my family is vegan or I'd be a fish out of water." When Louise left the room, her daughter, Veronica sat on her bed and took a notebook out of my bag.

"My Mommy's going to take care of you," she said with a smile on her face. "I'm in the fifth grade; I get to go to middle school next year. What grade are you in?"

"Third, my Dad said I could skip first and second grade," I told her. "Why do you have so much pink in your room?"

"Because _Hello Kitty_'s signature color is pink," she said. I might die in this room tonight. "You should be happy; if I hadn't spotted you then you'd be dead. Honestly, you should be thanking God."

"My father and I don't believe in God," I told her simply.

"You don't, then who do you believe in?" she asked me unaware of how somebody can't believe in an imaginary figure.

"Myself and evolution," I said as Louise came back in with a tray of hot tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich made from buckwheat bread and soy-mozzarella cheese. I got about half of the soup and sandwich down before I fell asleep and Louise ushered her daughter out the room. The moment she turned the bedroom light off, I fell fast asleep.

* * *

_Setting_: 1395 Warwick RD-Harper Hill, Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Time_: 11:30 P.M.

_Huey Freeman_…

"Alright, thank you, Ms. Norman," I said shortly before hanging up my phone. Everybody—including Alyssia and her _genius_ of a boyfriend—was gathered around my house. After two days of searching and media publicity throughout the state of Virginia, somebody finally called and said that Robby was safe though he might have a fever. According to this woman named Louise Norman, Robby had gone deep into the forest and fell asleep there during the latest snow storm and when her daughter found him the next morning, he had a fever that apparently went down to 110 and she fed him shortly after he have gave her my number. Though I was glad he was safe, I was pissed that he managed to escape Alyssia's house that easily when he was supposed to be asleep.

"Why weren't you watching him?" I asked her.

"Because Alonzo and I thought he was asleep, it was nine-thirty _way_ pasted his bedtime," she said as she stood up to face me. I laughed in her face and I was about to punch her, but Riley held me back.

"How have you been treating him for this past week?" I asked her.

"Like you told me! I've been sticking to his vegan diet and there was a _Doctor Who_ marathon on so I decided to let him watch that. He's living with you the majority of the time anyway, how can he not be depressed?" she asked me. Riley and Caesar had to hold me back and Taylor got in between the two of us.

"Do you want my secrets of the trade because I'll be happy to give them to you. The only reason why my son loves me more than you is because I didn't fucking leave for fucking Asia when he was two!"

"How many times are you going repeat the same damn thing?!" she shouted.

"**UNTIL YOU GET IT THROUGH THAT THICK, FUCKING HEAD OF YOURS! I TOLD YOU'RE FUCKING ASS NOT TO LEAVE HIM WITH ME, HE WOULD BE TOO YOUNG TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS GOING ON AND IF YOU EVER CAME BACK HE WAS GOING TO HATE YOU!**

"**I THINK HE PROVED THAT WHEN HE FUCKING RAN AWAY AND I HAD TO MISS MY ONLY FUCKING CHANCE TO MAKE AFROCENTRIC MORE POPULAR! I'M TRYING TO BUILD SHOPS IN THE WEST COAST AND DO YOU KNOW HOW WHITE-ORINATED IT IS OVER THERE?! NO YOU FUCKING DON'T…**_**THIS IS WHY I'M SUING YOUR ASS FOR FULL FUCKING CUSTODY**_**! HE'S NOT YOUR SON…HE'S MINE!**" I shouted.

The room was dead quiet as I released myself from Caesar and Riley's grasps and stormed into the backyard to cool off. It wasn't long before I heard the backdoor close behind me and I smelled strawberries.

"Huey…" I turned around and I hugged her. She was startled at first, but she soon hugged me back. "He's safe, the woman called you herself."

"I know, but he's still my son, Jazmine," I said into her neck. "I knew it was a mistake leaving him in her care, now he's gone and if it wasn't for this woman then he would've died last night."

"Now, Huey stop that. Alyssia didn't mean for this to happen and AfroCentric will have loads of opportunities to get more involved in the West Coast, trust me." I let go of her and gave her a kiss. "I can come with you tomorrow if you want me too."

"OK," I said as we walked back inside the house. I saw the look on Alyssia's face as she noticed Jazmine give me a kiss before sitting back beside Taylor. I beckoned the nosy woman forward and the two of us went into the kitchen. When we were far enough in the kitchen that nobody heard us, I took out an manila envelope that was from John Marshall Courthouse.

"You need to sign over custody, I wanted this to be private instead of in the courthouse because I don't any bad publicity heading towards AfroCentric," I said in an even tone.

"What are you going to do, marry your secretary?" she asked me.

"Don't make me kick your ass, just sign the damn papers," I said as I took a water bottle out of the fridge. She sighed and I gave her a pen, she signed her the papers and I placed them back in the envelope neatly. "You and Alonzo can leave now."

"Just because I signed away my custody doesn't mean he's not my son. He still looks like me, there's a small chance that he'll pick up some of my traits when he's older, but that paper means nothing," she said as she handed me back my pen.

"Alyssia, I told you before…you're a good mother, your just not Robby's Mom anymore. Now, you and Alonzo need to leave," I said. She walked out the room and a moment later, I heard the car door close behind them and Alyssia's car soon started up before she drove out of my son and mine's lives forever. It was like having a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.

* * *

_Setting_: 235 Patterson Drive, Northside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia_Date_: February 11TH, 2021

_Time_: 12:00 P.M.

_Jazmine DuBois_…

The next afternoon, after Huey made a stop at John Marshall Courthouse, we headed to Northside to get Robby. It took us thirty minuets to find the house, especially in the snow. When I spotted the average-sized cabin-like home, Huey pulled up in the driveway and stopped the car.

"Do you want me to come in with you?" I asked him. He nodded and I knew he was worried, it was weird seeing the one person who stayed calm in any situation, worry, but I guess it was because this was his child. His flesh and blood, his personal connection. "Huey, he's safe. I promise."

"I know he's safe," he said. "But what if this becomes a habit, I don't want to keep going to random white people's houses every time he runs away."

"Huey, I doubt he'll do it again. He's _your_ son, remember," I said with a smile. "And besides, he loves you more than anybody else in the world." Huey sighed and got out the car with me following behind him. When we got to the door, Huey knocked and a little white girl opened the door. She looked to be a few years older than Robby.

"Wow, you look just like him but taller," she said in admiration. "Mommy, Mr. Freeman's here!" She ran out the room as Huey and I walked inside the house. It was cozy and comfortable and it made me seriously consider getting a winter home in a cabin when the twins were older. The girl led us towards her room where we saw Robby putting on his other snow shoe.

"Daddy!" he said and once he got his other shoe on, he ran over and hugged Huey. Huey hugged him back and I even saw a small smile form. Robby smiled even brighter when he saw me behind his Dad.

After saying goodbye and thank you to Ms. Norman and her daughter, we left and Huey placed Robby in the backseat and on the drive back home, Robby fell fast asleep.

**REVIEW IF YOU AREN'T TOO MUCH INTO THIS SUPER BOWL! ONLY ONE MORE CHAPTER UNTIL THE END OF **_**HEART OF A FREEMAN**_**!**


	13. The Future

**Heart of a Freeman**

**Krys723**

**A/N: That was a good game wasn't it? My third favorite team won (who I called the Back-Up for when The Steelers and the Patriots don't make it in), Beyoncé's half-time show was boring because I'm such a K-Pop Addict now, and I saw some really good commercials, especially the one for the new **_**God of War**_** oh yeah I'm getting that. Damn I'm such a tomboy. Anyway, thank you for the reviews as usual and this is the **_**last chapter**_** before the epilogue, which will be more of an introduction of **_**If We Ever Meet Again**_**. And I promise you, I will get to my Cinley (RileyxCindy) collection, if not right away, but I will do it I never break a promise. ONWARDS!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own **_**The Boondocks**_**, I promise you, but I do own my own characters.**

* * *

_Setting_: AfroCentric Headquarters-Downtown Richmond, Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Date_: June 14TH, 2021

_Time_: 2:30 P.M.

Chapter Thirteen

The Future

_Huey Freeman_…

The people in the office were Robby and I, even if Robby was next door. I figured now that Robby was older; he could come here after school instead of going to daycare of some afterschool program. I don't mind it, even though he was seven, I could tell that he didn't want to be a part of the fashion industry. He just comes here to hang out with me and the guys and Jazmine. School was out and now, Robby was in the Cold Stone Creamery next door getting some ice cream while Riley, Caesar, and Jazmine were on a lunch break. The only time any of us left was office for lunch was when the store was going extremely well, which while stores everywhere were going great, going extremely well was a still a rare treat. It meant that we had gotten out every collection from now until winter of next year. Jazmine even told me that we had enough money to on for the rest of your lives, but I didn't know if I was ready to retire yet…in the future, yes, but not now. There were a lot of things I planned on doing in the future, like finally getting married to Jazmine.

We're been dating for only six months and just like Robby treated Jazmine like she was his Mom, I treated her twins like they were my own. I don't know if we'll have one more kid, but I was considering it, but first thing was first and that was getting married. We got engaged last night; I took her out to one of her favorite vegan restaurants and simply popped the question. She squealed and made a scene, but it was worth because there was something about her that made me truly fall in love. She even set the date for the wedding, she wanted to get married on December 22ND, it's the same day she was going to marry the idiot…it's something about that day she must really love. I'm not going to argue, I'm going to let Taylor plan the thing and she'll have to give Jazmine a new wedding dress because I already saw her in her old one.

This season also marks Caesar's last season as a soccer player ever and it's not because he broke any bones, it's because Ami and Ali were getting older and he didn't want to be one of those Dads. He's set out to be the youngest Richmond Kickers coach ever, a feat that nobody else has mastered. He's going to make sure it doesn't interfere with time here and with his girls. Taylor's not going to retire, she still has a lot of Korean to teach and her high school classes love her.

Cindy's getting bigger every day, she wants to pop now but she has another three months to go and Riley's worst fear came true, she's having a girl. I don't know why men worry about having girls, if you treat them right then they'll find a boy who'll treat them right in the future, though if any boy comes near Alexandria when she's older then I'll kick his ass. Riley's like me, he doesn't know if he wants to retire now because the business is doing well, but we'll talk about it more with Caesar in the future.

I was just finishing up my drawing for a new clothing idea I had when I heard the door open and Robby coming back in with the mystery of sticky hands since his ice cream was in a small bowl that was covered up. I grabbed a bottle of Purell from my desk drawer as Robby came over. I raised my eyebrow.

"Well?"

"I was waiting for my ice cream when this woman came and offered me some chocolate, it was vegan of course and she wanted me to show her the office, which I did and now I don't want the ice cream because it melted while I was walking back," he said. I raised my eyebrow and looked around the office.

"So where's this mysterious woman?" I asked him as I squirted two drops of Purell in his hands. He started rubbing his hands.

"Outside, I told her that she couldn't come in without your say-so," he said. I sighed and took a breath. _Don't hurt the boy_, I thought inside my head.

"OK, bring her inside and then go put your ice cream in the freezer so it can be saved and not melt all the way. After that, I want you to fix a sandwich because you haven't had lunch yet," I said.

"OK, Daddy," he said before running out the room. I sighed as I cleared some of my belongings off my other chair and placed it on the other side of my desk. We hardly get visitors besides Taylor and Cindy and the twins and they usually sit with their own husbands and Jazmine has her own desk, though when we're alone in the office we make out in my space.

"Hello, Huey Freeman." Turning around, I saw that it was Kentigerna Lucas and I raised my eyebrows. "How have you been?"

"I've been fine," I said as I sat back down. I beckoned the empty seat beside me. She sat down beside me and smiled. "Have you been bribing my son with vegan chocolate?"

"How do you know it was me?" she asked.

"Because you're the only other person who knows that my son and I are vegan besides family and a few close friends," I said. Kentigerna smiled again.

"I missed you at my fashion show back in February," she said.

"I had to go after my son, I'm sorry but blood does come before business," I said. She nodded in understanding. "I heard that Melanie Omens is your new successor."

"Yeah, well that's because you weren't there. I would like to bring up a proposal, however," she said. I waited for her to continue. "You and I join forces one time before my retirement. It'll be like saying farewell to me and hello to you and your boys…and you'll get noticed in the West Coast."

"Getting noticed in the West Coast isn't everything, I thought it was at first, but I have better things to deal with," I said.

"So money and power doesn't mean everything to you?" she asked me.

"Nope, sorry but it's like I told this guy I met last year, I don't care about my company being the best at everything," I said. And I don't have to have a store in the West Coast, that's why I have an online store so everybody all over the world can buy what they want and have it in at least two weeks."

"Very smart, Freeman," she said. "So how are things between you and your secretary?"

"How do you know about Jazmine and me?" I asked her sitting up.

"She kissed you twice during my dinner, how can I not put two and two together?" she asked.

"We're getting married in six months, my sister's planning the thing," I said. "Do you and your husband want to come?"

"I think we would like that very much, Huey," she said as she stood up. "And I'm glad we could be friends."

"As long as you don't call me Kovu," I said as I shook her hand.

"Why can't I call you Kovu?"

"If you hung around me every day, then you would know why." I walked her out and she hugged me one more time before getting in her car and driving away.

"Kovu!" I sighed before turning my head and seeing a pregnant Cindy getting out of the car Riley got for her as a birthday gift. I wanted to hit her, but she's pregnant and I can't hurt a pregnant woman. Well, at least for another three months.

"OK," I said as we leaned against the brick wall of the parking lot, it was a good spot for shade when we needed a break in the summer and needed fresh air. "I gotta know why do you keep calling me Kovu?"

"Because Kovu's my favorite character in _The Lion King II_. He's misunderstood and always judged before somebody gets to know him, but Kiara still falls in love with him. It's like she's the only one who understands him, like Jazmine's the only person who truly understands you. You're an outsider, but you command leadership," she said. I looked at her; I was surprised Cindy was able to think that deep. "But if you don't want me to call you Kovu, then I won't do it anymore."

"Alright," I said. "You can keep calling me, Kovu…just don't do it that often."

"Admit it, you like it when I call you Kovu, don't you?" I rolled my eyes as we headed back inside. A few minutes later; Riley, Caesar, and Jazmine came back with Taylor and just like that, we got back to work.

* * *

_**Flashback: 2005**_

_**Setting: The Hill, Woodcrest; Silver Springs, Maryland**_

_**Date: January 5**__**TH**_

_**Time: 3:30 P.M.**_

_**Huey Freeman…**_

_** "Hi, Kovu!" I groaned if there was one thing I hated the most about Cindy MacPhearson (besides the fact she was white) was that she always called me Kovu and I don't even know why she does it, she just does. I was sitting comfortably at the Hill when I saw Riley and his best friend heading up followed by Taylor, Jazmine, and the new boy, Michael Caesar.**_

_** "Is there a reason **__**all**__** of you are up here disturbing me?" I asked evenly as Taylor sat down beside me. I noticed that the usual perky Jazmine DuBois was really down and it looked as though she lost some color to her face. "What's wrong with you?"**_

_** "My parents are getting a divorce and since I'm their only child, it's a huge custody battle between them to see who'll win sole custody of me," she said.**_

_** "I'm never having kids and I'm never getting married," I said. "I swear your white Mom cheated on your black Dad just like I knew she would. I bet she wins."**_

_** "But she wants to move to D.C. or somewhere and I like it here," she said.**_

_** "Don't bitch about it, if it happens…it happens," I told her.**_

_** "Kovu, you're so mean," Cindy said. I was about to punch her, but Taylor placed her hand out in front of me.**_

_** "Then why do you hang around me?" I asked them.**_

_** "I just met you," said the dreadlocked-headed boy. He held out his hand. "I'm Caesar, just call me Caesar. I was named after my father, but he left my Mom and me when I was younger, so I'm just called Caesar. And it sounds kinda cool; I could be famous for having one name…like Madonna or Cher."**_

_** "Nigga, you gay," Cindy said. Riley smiled as he wrapped her arm around her waist.**_

_** "Why don't you two just date and get it over? You're always together," Taylor said. "I can see you two getting married."**_

_** "I can see us getting married too," Caesar said. Taylor blushed and I raised my eyebrow.**_

_** "Hey, that's my sister and I'm not afraid to kick your ass," I said.**_

_** "Have you all forgotten about my problem, what if my Mom leaves?" Jazmine asked, her voice rising. I turned to her and rolled my eyes.**_

_** "You're not leaving, trust us. If your Dad's loses, then your Mom's sleeping with everybody in that courthouse," I said. "In other words, who would want to lose to a whore?"**_

_** "You're so rude! That's my Mom you're talking about!"**_

_** "Yeah, your Mom the whore! You can't honestly say that she's not a whore…not after everything she's done to you and your Dad, not once you don't think of calling her a whore," I said. "I'm saving you from heartbreak, it's time for you to grow up, DuBois! I'm sorry for hurting you, but damn DuBois; grow the fuck up."**_

_** Jazmine smiled and walked over to hug me. I hated it when people hugged me but one look from Taylor told me to just let it slide. Her hair smelled like strawberries.**_

_** "Thank you, Huey."**_

_** "Please…get off me," I said. We stayed at the Hill for a little while longer and on the walk home, Jazmine wrapped her arm around mines. It was right then I felt truly connected to this girl and I didn't want her to leave.**_

**SO HERE WE ARE AT LAST…This is the official end of **_**Heart of a Freeman**_**, but the story isn't over until I do the Epilogue. If you would usually read my stories, you would see the Epilogue within this chapter, but this one is different because I'm giving you some **_**If We Ever Meet Again**_** news, specifically the ages.**

**-Robert "Robby" Freeman Jr.-seventeen, senior **

**-Raymond "Ray" Rafel (Robby's best friend)-seventeen, senior**

**-Amelia and Ashleigh-fourteen, freshmen**

**-Tom Jr. and Alexandria DuBois-Freeman-ten, fifth graders**

**-Camille Freeman-nine, fourth grader**

**-Raleigh Freeman (Riley and Cindy's daughter)-nine, fourth grader**

**-Raul Freeman (Riley and Cindy's son)-seven, second grader**

**-Mysterious girl **

**OK THERE ARE TWO MYSTERIOUS GIRLS HERE: Gina from the beginning of the story and Veronica from when Robby was missing from chapters eleven and twelve. I'm giving you the choice, do you want Gina to make her comeback or do you want Veronica and have a three-year gap in their relationship? I'm not going to tell you who I'm going to pick because it'll be revealed in the Epilogue in the last chapter. I'm not putting a poll on my homepage because 1) Some of you actually review from your phones and 2) I don't like the FanFiction poll systems. I will not do the Epilogue until I get at least **_**five**_** reviews!**

**REVIEW BY TAPPING ON THE REVIEW BOX OR TYPING IN THE BOX BELOW! REVIEW AND PARTICPATE IN THE POLL! **_**THE BOONDOCKS**_** NEED YOU! Oh and one more thing…ONE SHOT!**


	14. Prologue: If We Ever Meet Again

**Heart of a Freeman**

**Krys723**

**A/N: This is my last Autho****r's Note for **_**Heart of a Freeman**_**, everybody congratulates yourselves because we've finally reached the end and trust me you all deserve it! Now, as I've mentioned before, this will have **_**nothing**_** to do with the actual story because the actual story ended in chapter thirteen. This will be the prologue for **_**If We Ever Meet Again**_**. Oh and one more announcement, I REACHED OVER 80 REVIEWS and counting all of my reviews from every one of my stories, I have 238 reviews in total. So considering that this is a milestone, you all can pat yourselves on your back! And now, my favorite word; ONWARDS!**

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: Though I am proud of myself, I do not own **_**The Boondocks**_** and I only own my own characters! And **_**THAT**_** is the last time I'll say that for **_**Heart of a Freeman**_**.**

_Epilogue_

_Ten Years Later_

_Setting_: Basketball Court-Harper Hill Park, Harper Hill-Southside Richmond; Richmond, Virginia

_Date_: June 23RD, 2030

_Time_: 5:00 P.M.

Prologue

If We Ever Meet Again

_Robert Freeman JR._**…**

"And once again we're live in Harper Hill Park just as Ray Rafael takes his final shot, if he doesn't get this then he has lost to Robert Freeman Jr. in the simplest game on the Planet Earth…Horse. He already has the first four letters and if you pronounce it without the 'E' then it simply sound like 'whores'," I said pretending to be an announcer. I was at the park with my best friend since fourth grade, Raymond 'Ray' Rafael. He moved down the street from me when he was nine and after hanging around me like a lost puppy for a week when he first started Elizabeth D. Redd Elementary, we became best friends and now we were only months away from being seniors. He was my first and only guy friend since I had no interest of playing on the basketball team at our high school, Huguenot High. Ray looked over at me and rolled his eyes, my humor was definitely something I got from my Uncle Caesar. I got my basketball skills from my Uncle Riley and my intelligence and wisdom from my father.

In my whole family, I was the oldest out of eight, but in my household…I was the oldest out of four. My Dad, Huey Freeman married Jazmine DuBois when I was eight. She was more of a Mom than my birth mom, who left me and my Dad when I was baby. He didn't meet my official Mom until I was seven and she was engaged to marry another man. I didn't really know why that marriage got called off until I was thirteen and my Dad told me that her former fiancé was having a dirty affair with the woman I'm supposed to call Grandma, but we hardly talk. I don't know if they're still together or not, it didn't matter to me.

Jazmine had two other kids from her previous engagement; Alexandria and Tom Jr. who were both ten and two years after they got married, they gave birth to another daughter named Camille, after my birth grandmother. She was now eight and the three went to the same school, along with my Uncle Riley and Aunt Cindy's two kids; his nine-year-old daughter, Raleigh Cynthia Freeman and his son Raul Escobar Freeman. My Aunt Taylor and Uncle Caesar had only twin daughters; Ashleigh and Amelia and they were starting high school this year.

My Dad and uncles owned AfroCentric; a fashion store that they've had since college—it was still popular today; Ray and I worked there as cashiers on Mondays-Fridays and half of my paycheck went towards my college education. I wanted to go to my Dad's alma mater, Virginia Union University. When we were at work, Ray and I were strictly about business, but there were times we goofed off in the employee break room. Sometimes, my Dad would even let us come upstairs and we helped them with whatever ideas they needed. Mom still worked there, but she was actually apart of designing the women's line of fashion. It's only brought more popularity to AfroCentric. The store even got more notification in the West Coast and has participated in more underground and high end fashion shows as the years went by.

I watched as Ray tried to make the half-court shot that was impossible for some, but not for me because I trained under Uncle Riley. He dribbled the ball a few times; all of his energy was focused on the ball as he jumped up to take his shot. He missed it by a quarter of the way towards the basket.

"And the crowd goes wild as Robert Freeman Jr. wins the simple game of 'Horse' and as promised, Ray gets to buy the winner ramen!" I said. I pretended to make cheering fans as if we were in a stadium as Ray threw my ball at my chest, but I caught it and laughed.

"_Amigo_, you got lucky with that half-court shot, but I did get the letters 'H' and the letter 'O' out of you," he said as I grabbed my duffel bag from under the bench we were sitting at before and wiped my face off with it. It was hot as fuck out here, it was a scolding 97O out and even the plants were dying. I was thinking about just staying in the house where it was air-conditioned, but Ray desperately wanted to get out so I just said screw it and told him to meet up at the park. Ray lived with his Mom and drunken Dad, so he always found refugee staying with me whether it was for a night or a week. Mom and Dad didn't mind, we barely had any alcohol in the house because of the three younger ones. If they wanted to go drinking, then they would go over to my Uncle Riley's, he had all the alcohol locked up tight so Raleigh and Raul couldn't get to them it.

"Did you wanna get changed at my house before you give me my dinner?" I asked him as we started walking down to our houses.

"Nah, my Dad's not there," Ray said. Ray was full on Hispanic and like me; he was fluent in Spanish, English, and Korean because we've both been taking Korean ever since high school in my Aunt Taylor's class. He had curly, jet-black hair that reached his shoulders and eyes that reminded me of the deep end of the ocean. His skin was olive and smooth and he was starting to develop a six-pack from all the running he did. He was on the track team and the girls in our school loved him. When he wasn't around me, he was on dates, but he wasn't a womanizer. If he didn't like a girl, then he would tell her right then instead of going out with her and then telling her that he wasn't interested.

When we reached Ray's house, his Dad's truck still wasn't in the lot which was a good thing and I told Ray that I would see him in a few. I decided to pick him up in my Land Rover that Aunt Cindy got for my sixteenth birthday. I took really good care of it, I even repair it myself whenever there was a problem with it. I even gave her a name, Black Beauty.

* * *

When I got back to my house, I opened the door and saw the little ones in the living room doing their summer homework. Alexandria and Tom JR. looked like Mom more than their birth father. Alexandria's hair was in a puffy ponytail just like Mom's used to be when she was younger, so I could only imagine that Alex's hair would become curly as she got older. Tom's hair was curly like Ray's, it reached his shoulder blades and he often kept it in a ponytail so it wouldn't fall over his face. They both carried Jazmine's emerald green eyes and they like they could be identical even though they were fraternal because of their genders.

Camille was the baby; she was named after my grandma who died when my Dad was eight due to a brain aneurysm. She had my Dad's Afro that she kept in a ponytail and those Freeman eyes, round and the color of red wine. I snuck up behind her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Ew, you're all sweaty. Where were you?" Alexandria asked looking up from her homework.

"I was with Ray," I said as I went in the kitchen. "Where are Mom and Dad?" I grabbed a water bottle from the forever packed fridge and drunk about half of it.

"They went out and they left me in charge," Alexandria said.

"How long are they going to be gone for?" I asked her with a smirk. They did the same thing with me when I was younger, I could only stay by myself for no more than an hour.

"They just went to get something from the store, they should be back any minute," Camille said. I smiled as I patted her head; always go to Camille for information.

"I'm going to take my shower now, if anybody knocks ask who it is before answering and if it's a Jehovah Witness, then tell them Dad's going to kick their ass and they'll run away," I said as I headed upstairs and walked in my room. I asked Dad for my own room and bathroom when I was thirteen and the twins were six. Tom would ways come in there often while I was taking a shower and I got tired of it, so it was either kick Tom's ass or get my own bedroom/bathroom. I got the sole bedroom/bathroom and now I always locked my bedroom door.

After I took a shower and drying my Afro—it was a long process and one of the major downfalls of having an Afro, but I was used to it after seventeen years, I put on a pair of cargo shorts with a black tee and black sneakers and headed downstairs where I saw Mom and Dad just coming back in.

"Where have you been?" I asked them even though I could tell due to the hickey on Mom's neck. Whenever they're both going to the office and they weren't working, they would usually just go to make out. I knew my parents better than anybody else, they were pure freaks.

"Just to the office," Dad said.

"You're both freaks, as if I need another sibling. We don't have that much family left, unless you want to name another boy after me," I said as I grabbed my car keys from the bowl. Mom blushed as she headed upstairs. Dad just raised an eyebrow.

"Going out?" he asked me.

"Yep, Ray promised to buy me ramen, we were playing basketball earlier and we bet that whoever lost gets to buy the winner ramen," I said. My Dad and I were of the same height and our voices practically matched. For me, it was like looking in a mirror, in twenty years if I worked hard enough then I could be just as successful as my Dad and he hardly worked. The only thing they did in that office was goof off before they actually got to work.

"Don't stay out too late," Dad told me in his baritone voice.

"As in…"

"No later than one or your sparring with me for a week," Dad said. Even in his thirties he's a better sparring than me; it was as if he never believed in getting old.

"I wouldn't mind winning again, if that's what you mean," I told him with a smile. He rolled his eyes as I walked outside and quickly got inside Black Beauty. I started the car up and it wasn't long before an old Hip-Hop group and the air conditioner came on. I quickly cooled off as the passenger door opened and Ray climbed in and I drove off. We were halfway up the street when I saw a moving van in front of one of Harper Hill's empty houses. There were two moving trucks outside and two cars parked in the new driveway. I saw the Harper Hill House Association come by earlier in the week and spruce up the house. A family of three emerged from the first car and a girl who's about our age emerged from the second car.

I looked at the girl who came out of her own car, it was a dark blue and silver PT Cruiser. She had long, curly scarlet red hair and eyes that were round and purple. It was her eyes that drew me to her. She looked over at me and I smiled at her. She waved back before grabbing a box from her the trunk of her car and turned towards her new home. I turned over to Ray and smirked at him.

"It's too hot to help," he told me.

"Stop being a pussy and let's help," I told him as I got out. Ray rolled his eyes and ran to catch up with me as we walked across the street to where the movers were getting stuff out the second truck. The girl spotted us and walked over.

"Hello," she said with a smile.

"Hey, I'm Robby and this is Ray. We were wondering if you and your family needed any help," I said.

She was taken aback. "OK, let me see with my Mom first and then I'll let you know." I nodded as she ran over to where her Mom was. The two only conversed for a few minutes before she ran back over to where Ray and I stood.

"She says that she doesn't have any money at the Mom, but if you still would like to help then she can give you two like fifty bucks each tomorrow afternoon," she said.

I looked over at Ray. "It's fifty bucks. What do you say?"

"OK," he said. We walked over to where the movers were and grabbed some boxes, hauling them inside the empty house.

"The boxes you have are straight for the dining room and living room, we already moved the boxes that were for the upstairs and kitchen," the girl said as she carried a box and dropped in into the apparently living room. I nodded and placed the box marked dining room and put it gently down. We kept repeating this process for an hour and when the last box was moved in, we stood up with the girl and her family.

"We would like thank you so much for helping us, it's nice when such nice boys come and help," the woman said with a smile. "We'll pay you tomorrow afternoon if you come by around three."

"OK, but we really didn't do it for the money," I said. Ray cleared his throat and I elbowed him in the stomach. "We just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood."

"Well, I want to pay you for all your hard work. No good deed goes unpunished you know," she said. She smiled as her and her family went back in the house. The girl smiled at me.

"You remind me of a friend I used to know," she said.

"Did you want to hang out with us? We're going to get some ramen in AsiaTown and probably catch a movie," I said. She nodded and went inside the house to tell her Mom and Dad where she was going. A few moments later, she came out and I introduced her to Black Beauty and she got in the backseat while Ray and I got in the front and I started to drive off.

"So why don't you give us a name, we don't want you to feel like a stranger," Ray said.

"Gina Stevens," she said. "And who might you two be again?"

"I'm Ray Rafael and this is my best friend, Robby Freeman Jr.," Ray said.

"You don't have to add the "Jr." part though, you can just call me Robby," I said.

* * *

After eating ramen and catching a late-night movie, it was 12:30 in Harper Hill and I still have thirty minutes to spare on my curfew, good thing to because after all that moving I did today, I didn't have the strength to spar with the King of Sparring. We pulled to Gina's house first and with Ray asleep in the passenger seat, I decided to walk Gina to her door. I could also talk to her privately because I knew who she was.

"You have no idea who I am do you?" I asked her as I walked to her front porch.

"What makes you think I don't know who you are, Robby Freeman," she said with a smile. I smirked at her as we stopped at her front door. "How have you been?"

"I've been fine, I got taller you know. I couldn't stay that short forever," I said.

"I see that you got taller, you're probably just as tall as your father. So I was wondering when you wanted to hang out again, just the two of us so we could catch up."

"As much as I would like to hang out with you and you force me to play with Barbies, I'm going to be busy tomorrow. AfroCentric still stands and tomorrow is inventory day, but if I get off early I can pick you up and we can go to the park or something," I said.

"Cool. I'll see you then." We exchanged numbers on our phones and I waved bye as I walked back to Black Beauty and got inside. I watched to make sure she got in her home safely, then I drove back to my place and both Ray and I headed inside for the night.

**THERE IT IS, THE PROLOGUE TO **_**HEART OF A FREEMAN**_**. TELL ME IF YOU LIKE IT OR HATE IT AND I'LL HAVE THE OFFICAL STORY OUT EITHER BY THE WEEKEND OR MONDAY AFTERNOON. IT'LL MOST LIKELY BE THE WEEKEND! REVIEW **_**HEART OF A FREEMAN**_** ONE LAST TIME BY CLICKING EITHER THE REVEW BUTTON ON YOUR PHONE OR WRITING IN THE BOX BELOW!**


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